Fatal Mistake
by Jaycee27
Summary: In a moment of anger, Bella makes a horrible mistake that could cost her and Edward their lives. As the danger intensifies, Edward struggles to protect Bella from the forces that outnumber them as a simple mistake turns into a fight for survival.
1. true identity

**Chapter 1**

I lay in my bed contemplating the events of the past few weeks. Undoubtedly, I was much better off than I had been recently. But my happiness seemed to be at the expense of everyone else's… Everyone that I knew and cared about. Well, everyone _human_, that is. Edward and I were practically in heaven, and Alice kept gushing about how glad she was to have me around to talk to again. Whenever I walked into the Cullens' house, I was immediately greeted by three boisterous vampires and two shy ones. Edward was usually with me already and Carlisle was usually at work, but the rest of the family always seemed happy to see me. Alice was always the most enthusiastic, of course, closely followed by Emmett, who often knocked me over in his attempts to greet me. Esme was just as excited; her eyes seemed to fill with tears (although I knew that was impossible) every time she saw Edward and me together. Jasper always hung back, extra careful now, since the last thing we needed was a repeat of the incident that had taken Edward away from me. Most of these were similar reactions to those I would have gotten before their absence but there was one that was drastically different. I was used to cold indifference and even dislike from Rosalie. When I used to come over, she was often upstairs, avoiding me by brushing her long flowing hair or gazing at her reflection but now, she was always there with the others, Greeting me with a tentative smile.

But that's all there was, as far as happy endings went. I loved my vampire family more than they could possibly imagine, but I could barely stand what it was doing to the other people I loved. Jacob still wouldn't speak to me, although I called every night. Billy kept refusing to let me talk to him. Renee phoned every day in hysterics, begging me to come live with her so that she could keep me away from Edward. She was so sure that I would end up like I was before, broken and empty. With Charlie it was much the same scenario. We fought constantly, as I tried to convince him that Edward wasn't the bad guy in this situation, but he kept insisting that I should not be seeing Edward, that he was dangerous. He didn't know how right he was. It would be so much easier if Charlie knew the truth, but I could never tell him that. He was not allowed to know.

I looked over at my empty closet, with a twinge of sadness. Everything I saw now reminded me of how happy I had once been living with Charlie. The particular memory that the closet kept reminding me of was of when I was around seven. I had been visiting Charlie here in Forks over the summer and I had been terrified of monsters. Every night, Charlie would come in checking the closet for monsters. How ironic that now, I always prayed that he _wouldn't _check my closet for monsters. More often than not, there _was _a monster in my closet these days and it didn't bother me at all. But not tonight. Tonight the monster was off sucking blood, doing his monster routine. I was never alone, of course. The monster's sister was watching and waiting outside, always within earshot in case Victoria showed up. It was a lot lonelier than when Edward was there to guard me for everyone involved. I longed to have his arms around me as I slept and I knew he would rather be closer to me as well. Alice insisted that she didn't mind staying with me, but I knew that she would prefer to be with Jasper. It was so easy to sleep comfortably when Edward was there, but when he was gone, I was always restless.

"Alice!" I whispered out the window. She was in the room in a heartbeat.

"What's wrong?" she hissed back, alarm in her voice.

"Nothing," I replied quickly, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. It's just that… I'm not getting any sleep anyway, so you might as well be up here. We can keep each other company." She smiled, crossing the room and seating herself on the end of my bed in one fluid motion. She could always tell when I missed Edward and she was careful not to mention him as we talked for the rest of the night.

In the morning everything was back to normal. Edward was waiting for me in his silver car when I came downstairs. The day was fairly routine. The only thing that got me through the long school day was Edward's presence, as usual. After school he drove me home and we watched movies all afternoon, paying more attention to each other than what was on the screen.

"Ahem!"

The voice came from behind me making me jump. I tore my eyes away from Edward's perfect face, blushing as I realized that Charlie had probably been watching for some time now, and had undoubtedly noticed that I was blatantly ignoring the TV. A glance up at my father's face confirmed this and I quickly released Edward's hand. Charlie was pointing at the clock hanging on the wall.

"Nine o'clock," he barked gruffly.

I sighed and the two of us stood up, embracing quickly before heading towards the door. Charlie's expression darkened further at this. He followed us, staying directly behind me and breathing down my neck as if to prevent further romantic displays from Edward and me. I groaned.

"Honestly, dad! Is it too much to ask to have a moment of privacy?" I demanded.

"You've had the whole evening together. It's time for him to go and you don't need any more privacy," he announced, his tone implying that it would be unwise to argue. I tried to reason with him anyway.

"Just give us a minute to say goodbye," I replied softly.

"One minute," Charlie said firmly.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Edward and started scheming in hushed voices, just in case.

"Are you coming back tonight?" I asked.

"Of course," he replied, as though it were obvious. And indeed it was rare that he had anywhere else to be at night. The last time I had slept without him there had been a few weeks ago when he had been so thirsty that he could not afford to be too close. Still, he made sure I was never alone. Alice was always there if he couldn't be, keeping watch on the off chance that Victoria might show up to murder me in my sleep.

"Alright… Charlie will probably be suspicious if I go up right away, so come back in about an hour, ok?"

"Relax Bella, I know the drill" he said, rolling his eyes. I only smiled.

"See you tomorrow," I called louder out the door, for Charlie's benefit, as I watched him glide out to his car flashing a grin at me before driving away.

As soon as Edward was out of sight, Charlie was back in the room, for our nightly argument.

"Bella, I don't like that boy. I've said it a thousand times! Why won't you listen to me? This is for you own good, you know," Charlie fumed.

"Dad, relax… I know what's good for me. Edward is good for me. You know what happened to me when he wasn't there," I snapped, tired of the familiar argument.

"Exactly!" Charlie continued, "If he really cared he would never have done that!"

"Dad, we've been though this," I cried, completely fed up, "Edward cares! He had his reasons for leaving." I couldn't resist adding that last bit, not realizing what I had said.

"What do you mean, Bella?" Charlie asked, suddenly suspicious, "I thought he left because his father was going to work in LA."

"Oh, yeah, he did," I replied thinking quickly, "I just meant he had reasons for breaking up with me". The excuse sounded pathetically weak even to me. Charlie seemed suspicious now.

"Bella there is _no_ possible excuse for what that monster did to you!" he thundered. I was angry now and I was starting to feel my powers of reasoning ebbing away. Charlie had no right to accuse my Edward of being a monster!

"Of course there's an excuse!" I screamed at him, "Do you really think that Edward would have done what he did without a good reason? Have you not seen us together? HE LOVES ME!"

"Don't talk to me like that, Bella!" Charlie scolded, "You're eighteen years old and this kid is your first boyfriend. You have no idea what love is. How could telling you he didn't care possibly have an excuse?"

"He was only trying to protect me!" I shrieked, furious at his ridiculous accusations.

"PROTECT YOU?" Charlie bellowed, "You nearly DIED, Bella! You stopped eating for three days! And then you started pulling all those crazy stunts… Jumping off cliffs, riding motorcycles. I can't imagine what he could even have been protecting you from that could possibly be worse than what happened to you."

"There are lots of things more dangerous, dad," I hissed.

"Like WHAT?" he challenged. Uh-oh… Something told me I shouldn't tell the truth. The furious red cloud of anger flooding my mind was too thick to remember why, but I followed my gut and tried to get the conversation off track.

"Besides, he wouldn't have done it if he'd known that I'd get in so much trouble."

"Bella, you didn't answer my question," he reminded me stubbornly, "What could that boy possibly have been protecting you from that was worse than what happened to you?"

"NOTHING!" I yelled, "I don't want to tell you!" But why? That was what my angry mind couldn't comprehend. Why couldn't I just tell my father exactly why Edward had left? Maybe that would make him see. My conscience warned me against this new plan, but it was getting so, so hard to focus.

"That kid doesn't know anything. He might have told you he was 'protecting you', Bella, but he's using you! He'll hurt you again. He doesn't care and he never has," Charlie insisted. That was enough. I snapped.

"EDWARD CARES ABOUT ME" I screamed, "Do you know why he left? He's a VAMPIRE! He was afraid that he was going to hurt me! Every moment that he is with me he has to restrain himself from KILLING me! THAT is how much he cares, dad. He loves me so much he tortured himself by leaving so that I could be safe!"

That's when it hit me. Now I knew why I was not supposed to do what I had just done. My eyes widened in horror and I stumbled back against the wall and slowly slid to the floor. My hands were clapped over my mouth as I tried to fight the rising nausea in the pit of my stomach. I had betrayed him. I had betrayed my Edward. How could I do that? He would never forgive me, I was positive. They would have to go into hiding and Edward would be so angry that he would never want to speak to me again. No. That couldn't be true. He would forgive me, wouldn't he? If he really cared, it would be alright eventually. He would forgive me and someday he would trust me again. Someday…

"Bella…what are you talking about?" Charlie asked, concern filling his voice. I tried to think of a way out, but there was no way to cover for my outburst. As the anger faded, I could see all too clearly that there was no escape from what I had just done.

"Edward is a vampire," I whispered again.

"Bella, honey, vampires don't exist. I think the strain of what Edward did to you is just causing you some confusion." He said kindly.

"No, dad, it's true. He doesn't eat people of anything though, if you're worried about that. He eats animals instead. It's a long story and very complicated but I've already said far, far too much… What am I going to tell him?" I added that last part on more for myself than anything.

"Wow, Bella…" Charlie said, seemingly shocked, "Well, I don't know what to say… That's really unexpected. Look, I really need some time alone to digest this. Could you maybe go to bed now?"

"Sure," I replied quietly, my voice trembling as I fought back tears. Without another word, I fled up the stairs, tripping twice, my blurred vision adding to my usual clumsiness.

I collapsed on my bed and sobbed, careful to remain quiet so that Charlie wouldn't hear. I don't know exactly how long I stayed there, but that was how Edward found me when he entered my room silently through the window.


	2. Consequences

**Chapter 2**

"Bella," he exclaimed in alarm, crossing the room in a single stride and wrapping his cool arms around me, "What happened? Alice had a vision but all she saw was you sitting here crying. What's wrong?"

"Edward, I did something terrible," I managed to choke out.

"I can't be that bad, whatever it is," He reassured me.

"No, it is… I well, I was angry. Charlie kept saying awful things about you and he wouldn't listen when I told him that he had to forgive you and- and… Edward, I told him the truth… about you." I couldn't bear to meet his eyes as I told him this. To my immense surprise and relief, he did not yell or push me away. Instead he lifted my chin up, forcing me to meet his gaze.

"Everyone makes mistakes, Bella," he whispered. I gaped at him, unable to believe what he was telling me.

"Edward! I betrayed your biggest secret! Are you telling me that you're not the least bit upset about that?" I demanded, "now you'll have to leave and you'll have to bring me so that Victoria can't get me and that means you'll have to fake my death and this could get out to the whole world now and-"

"Ssh, Bella. We can fix this," he murmured soothingly, pressing one finger to my lips, "After all, the world isn't suddenly going to acknowledge the existence of vampires on the word of one 18 year old girl".

"But Charlie knows now!" I continued, "I won't be able to see you and the volturi don't allow humans to know about you. Oh my god, they could kill Charlie, Edward!" My voice rose in panic.

"Bella, we'll think of something," He promised, kissing the top of my head, "I didn't say it would be easy or that this wasn't a problem, but like I said, we all make mistakes. God knows I've made mine… Yours hasn't hurt anyone yet, and I think we can get it under control before it does. I have to talk to the others about this. But I can't leave you alone…" He frowned, trying to think of some way to keep me safe.

"I'll be alright… go. Alice will know if anything bad is about to happen." I reminded him.

"Yes… that's true" he replied doubtfully, but after giving a quick kiss, he turned and was gone before I saw him move.

The next morning, Charlie was waiting for me at the breakfast table. I was immediately suspicious. Finding out that vampires exist isn't much of a reason not to go on with life as usual.

"I took the day off work so we could talk about this," he explained as I sat down, "I've called your school as well, to tell them you won't be coming. Do you want me to drive you over to Edward's before he leaves for school? You owe him an apology."

"I'll call him later," I replied.

"No, Bella, I think you need to explain in person," Charlie insisted. I was confused. Why was Charlie making such a big deal about this? He seemed to be taking the whole thing rather well. I had expected to have to give a bit more explanation before he even believed me. But I just shrugged and agreed to go see Edward. After all, I still needed to apologize to the rest of the family. I suspected that my newly achieved truce with Rosalie would be ended now. In fact, the only one I was sure would forgive me was Alice. This was one mess that I was going to have trouble cleaning up.

We drove off in Charlie's police cruiser. He was acting very strange the whole way. There was a pile of assorted papers on the front seat so he made me sit in the back. Charlie knows that riding in the back of a police car can cause rumors! Not to mention that every time I caught a glimpse of Charlie's face it was contorted as though her were trying not to burst into tears. He didn't seem shocked or horrified or anything remotely resembling those things. I was sure that this was not a normal reaction to finding out about the existence of vampires.

When Charlie took the road leading into the middle of town, it did nothing to ease my suspicions.

"Dad, you're going the wrong way," I began cautiously.

"We're not going to the Cullens' place, Bells," he admitted sadly, "I'm taking you to the hospital.

"What?" I gasped, staring at him in disbelief.

"Bella… I'm really sorry but- but- well, I just don't know what else to do," he says, tears filling his eyes.

"There is _nothing_ wrong with me," I reply firmly.

"Bella, you're convinced that your boyfriend is a vampire. Honey that's… that's just not normal.

"You don't believe me?" I demand, shaking with fury, "You lied to me! You said you believed me!"

"I didn't want you to do anything dangerous. People hurt themselves when they're…" his voice trailed off and he stared straight ahead at the road.

"Crazy? Is that what you were going to say?" I asked, choking on tears. My own father actually thought I was insane! How could this happen? It just didn't make sense. I thought Charlie trusted me. Then again, it was so obvious that I should have seen it. Why should he believe me? The world was taught that vampires were just fictional villains. Why should the word of one 18-year-old girl be enough to convince anyone otherwise, especially when that girl had a reputation like mine?

"Dad, stop!" I pleaded, pulling the thick plexiglass window that separated us all the way open to reach through and grip Charlie's shoulder.

"Bella, do not make this more difficult for me!" he barked sharply. I pulled back, stung by his harsh tone. I recovered quickly, though, and started clawing uselessly at the door handle, forgetting that I was in a police car. Charlie gently reminded me that the doors only open from the outside and suddenly the reason for his forcing me to sit in the backseat became painfully obvious. I should have stopped then, given up and gone quietly, but I continued to pull on the handle, acting on pure instinct, desperations guiding me in my hopeless attempts at escaping. I didn't stop until we reached the hospital.

"Don't make me go in there, Charlie," I pleaded softly.

"Bella, it breaks my heart to do this to you," he replied, "But I just don't have a choice."

"You do, Dad," I whispered, "You do".


	3. Escape

**Chapter 3**

I walked into the hospital with my head down, praying that nobody would recognize me unless it happened to be Carlisle. I knew that was unlikely, though, since Edward was probably still keeping him occupied with their little family meeting. Funny how quickly I had destroyed my own life and the lives of everyone I cared about. Charlie held tightly on to my arm, as though he were afraid I would run away if he let go. Come to think of it, I probably would. Charlie explained the situation to the receptionist, who then paged Dr. Snow and instructed him to take me to the fifth floor and examine me. As it happened, the examination didn't seem to revolve around me too much. Charlie told the story of what had happened and Dr. Snow prattled about relapses and 'the incident last year'. I flinched when he mentioned that, and that only seemed to convince him more that it was all related and that I should be admitted immediately. Charlie left then, proposing that he come back to visit the next day, but Dr. Snow told him that it was best not to. Generally, they didn't like to let people with my condition have visitors, as it tended to upset them. I tried to protest but he treated me like a stupid little child and promised that I would be able to see Charlie if I recovered.

They put me in a tiny room with a hard bed that had scratchy wool blankets. There was an adjoining bathroom so miniscule that I could barely fit my whole body inside and, to add injury to insult (**A/N: Yes, I know it's the other way around, it just makes more sense inverted in this case)**, it was more elevated than the room with my bed in it, so, naturally I tripped each time I had to use it. It had been a long time since I had tripped without Edward there to catch me and the bruises I got as a result made me long to have him close even more. My room was also inconveniently equipped with a heavy door with a lock that looked as though it would be difficult to break. That didn't bother me much, however. Escaping was not the issue now that I was locked up. People had already seen me here and would surely be talking for years to come. What bothered me the most was that Charlie had betrayed me. I realized that there was nobody that trusted me anymore. How my own father could even consider something like this let alone go through with it…

As I predicted, escape was not something I would have to take care of myself. Only a few hours after my admission, the door opened and a friendly face greeted me at last. I was stunned to see that Carlisle didn't look the least bit angry or disapproving. In fact, he wore a reassuring smile when he entered the room, and came to sit next to me.

"Edward explained what happened," Carlisle began, "And, I just want you to know, Bella, that none of us are going to hold it against you."

"But – Why? I betrayed you all! You trusted me and I broke my promise," I stammered, feeling unworthy of their forgiveness.

"Bella, it was an accident. We all know that. And, besides, it's easily fixed. He didn't believe you," Carlisle reassured me.

"That's true," I murmured.

"Now, here's the plan," he continued, "I don't want to cause too much suspicion about your release so we're going to have to go along with the 72 hour observation period. In other words, you're stuck here for three days, but don't worry; I'll be taking over your case. You won't have to deal with any pointless medical procedures or anything. I'll tell Dr. Snow that I have personal interest in the case. Everyone knows about you and Edward, so that shouldn't take much explanation. The only thing is that there's no way they'll let you have visitors until the 72 hours is up… Are you ok with that?"

"I think I can manage for 3 days," I replied reluctantly.

"Good," he turned to leave, but stopped with his hand on the doorknob and turned back towards me, "Oh, and Bella? Edward said to tell you not to worry," I smiled, comforted at the thought and then flopped down on the uncomfortable bed in resignation. It wasn't going to be an easy three days.

My prediction was undoubtedly correct. My tiny room was not a source of much entertainment, and it had been a long time since I had been away from Edward for three whole days. Carlisle came in regularly to check on me and bring messages from the rest of the family. He reported that Edward grew increasingly agitated as time went on. Apparently he kept coming up with plans to get me out sooner, all completely ridiculous. I trusted Carlisle when he said that this was the best way to do things. I didn't want anybody getting suspicious, although I had to admit that it was very hard to get through. Every night, when I was sure Carlisle wasn't going to check in again, I cried myself to sleep, wishing that Edward could be there to end my loneliness.

Unbearable as it seemed at first, the time did pass and finally, I was discharged. Charlie came to pick me up, in his police cruiser. He looked very angry on the short drive back to our house. It wasn't until we got back to the house that I found the courage to ask why he was unhappy that I had been discharged.

"You don't look any better to me, Bella," he explained, angrily, "They should have kept you longer than three days to figure out the real problem,"

"Dad, the doctors said I ate something funny. I'm fine now," I replied, patiently.

"Sure, that's what they said! They're covering for something, I know it," He muttered more to himself than to me, "Why else would that boy's father have taken over your case?"

I didn't want to listen to him rant anymore. No matter how many times I asked him to stop, he never knew when to just accept what I was telling him. I couldn't risk a repeat of the argument that had started this.

"I can't deal with this anymore, Dad," I said finally, "I'm leaving."

I didn't stop to listen to his feeble protests. He was shocked, I knew, but he would have to learn to get over it. I had done what I could to make Charlie happy and as far as I was concerned, he had done nothing recently to return the effort. Somehow, that thought did little to comfort me as I drove to Edward's house. It was evening and, between the darkness and my quickly filling eyes, I could barely drive straight. It became increasingly apparent that I could never make it to Edward's house without driving off the road and killing myself. I pulled over to the side of the road and parked my truck, climbing into the back and lying miserably on the seat. I tried to fall asleep but it was useless. After about half an hour, a gentle tap on the window made me jump up from my thoughtful half sleep and hit my head hard on the roof. Terrified, I jammed down all the locks and then glanced out fearfully. It was Edward. I sighed with relief, unlocking the door and jumping out of the truck, into his arms. He led me to his Volvo, while Alice took over the driving of my truck, begrudgingly, since none of the Cullens ever liked having to drive it.

During the ride, I explained to Edward what had happened. He had been very confused and slightly alarmed when Alice had told him about her vision of me crying in my truck at the side of the road. I was once again extremely grateful for my vampire family's mysterious abilities.

"Bella, you can't abandon Charlie like this," Edward scolded when I had finished.

"But, Edward, he doesn't understand! He thinks I'm crazy and he hates you! I'm coming to live with you," I announced stubbornly.

"As much as I would love that, you know it's not possible, Bella. Charlie would never allow it." Edward reminded me.

"He doesn't get a say in it. It's my decision," I insisted defiantly.

Edward just sighed and kept driving.

The next morning, Charlie called the Cullens' house saying he would get a restraining order to keep Edward away from me if I didn't come home. We discussed the matter in the Cullens' dining room for hours and finally decided that the only thing we could do would be to convince Charlie of the truth. No one liked the idea, but if I stayed here Charlie would force Edward to stay away from me, and if I went home he would probably still force Edward to stay away from me. All of Edward's family seemed to think that one more person in on the secret wouldn't make a difference. Now all we had to do was convince Charlie.


	4. A Healthy dose of Fear

**Chapter 4**

"You don't have to be there, you know," Edward told me for the thousandth time. He kept insisting that he was only reassuring me, but there was an undercurrent of begging to his tone, which alerted me to the true meaning of his words. He didn't want me to be there. He didn't want me to see what they were going to do to convince Charlie that what I had blurted out was true. I wanted to be there though, to help Charlie understand. It wasn't an easy thing to accept, and I had been scared and confused when I'd first learned the truth. It was like Jacob had said when he'd told me the story of his transformation. It's much easier to accept, to cope with, when you're not alone. Sam and the other werewolves had help Jacob through his ordeal and I would help Charlie through his. I was surprised at how much it hurt to think of Jacob.

"I do have to be there, Edward; he's my father," I replied, again. He sighed and turned away, looking pained. I was afraid of what they were going to do. None of the Cullens would tell me exactly what was going to happen; they seemed to think I was better off left in the dark. All they would say is that humans are stubborn and that is takes a lot to convince them of things they've been led to believe are untrue. Having witnessed the extent of the Cullens' powers, I was more than a little unsettled, but I had to trust them. After all, the Cullens had been much more reliable than my real family since they returned.

Edward drove in silence through the woods. He and I were alone in his Volvo while Rosalie and Carlisle followed with the rest of the family. I had to turn and check several times to make sure they were still there. Their inaudible engines always threw me off, accustomed as I was to the deafening snarl of my truck. Eventually the ominous forest gloom gave way to the dim glow of Forks. I glanced up at the ever-present thunderclouds overhead, which, right on cue, began to drip steadily and after a few minutes escalated into a torrential downpour, smacking violently against the windshield. It was raining so hard by the time we reached my house that Edward had to whisk me into the house at near full speed to keep me from being drenched.

Charlie was in his usually spot on the sofa when we entered the living room. Naturally he was engrossed in some football game or something, but he turned to acknowledge me when I addressed him.

"Charlie," I began hesitantly, and before I could continue, he whipped around, smiling broadly, clearly ecstatic at my return. The grin vanished quickly, of course, once he caught sight of the protective vampire accompanying me. I expected this of course, but I couldn't stop myself from being a little disappointed each time Charlie made his dislike of Edward so excruciatingly obvious. I couldn't describe how much I wanted Charlie to approve of Edward.

"What are you doing here?" Charlie sneered at Edward.

"I was merely accompanying Bella home, Chief Swan," replied Edward innocently, careful to be polite.

"Well, you can just get out," Charlie snapped rudely.

"Dad-" I protested, but it wasn't Charlie who cut me off.

"Of course, I was just on my way," Edward said smoothly, turning to leave but at the moment he reached for the door handle, he was on the other side of the room. My gaze flicked to Charlie's face, so I could gage his reaction. His eyes had widened and he blinked a couple of times. He muttered something about strange dreams, and rubbed his eyes, before rounding on Edward again.

"You have to get out of this house NOW!" He barked moving towards Edward as though to throw him out physically but Edward was gone again. In his place was Alice, glaring coldly at Charlie. Even I was a little scared, although I knew she was only acting.

"Charlie," she whispered, "We're not happy with you".

"Alice?" Charlie whimpered, in a small voice that didn't sound like him. As angry as I had been with him in the past few days, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt and sympathy as, I caught sight of his terror struck face.

They were all there now, circling around Charlie hauntingly.

"You should have believed Bella when you had the chance," Rosalie hissed. She was by far the most intimidating of the family.

"You don't give her enough credit…" Esme snapped. This was the most shocking part of their performance for me. I had never seen Esme act so cold.

"Bella would never lie about something like that, and she's far too strong to lose her mind over Edward," Carlise said, picking up Esme's train of thought, "We had to come over here ourselves to demonstrate that we are in fact, not human"

At that point I noticed that there were only six of them. Jasper must have decided to stay away to avoid losing control. All the others had spoken now except Emmett whose presence could hardly go unnoticed thanks to his size and his stony glare. This was all getting to be a bit much. I backed away from the circle of vampires, suddenly aware that I was crying. I hurt to see my vampire family acting so cruel. I knew it was necessary, but they were terrifying me.

"You're all insane," Charlie gasped.

"I thought you might say that," said Edward conversationally, but the angry stare remained engraved on his face, "Why don't we give Charlie a little demonstration? Do you want to see what we can do, Charlie?" The question was clearly rhetorical.

Alice closed her eyes.

"In about ten seconds you're planning to try running away," Alice predicted, "I wouldn't try it. Didn't you notice how fast we move?"

Charlie's eyes widened.

"Oh, now he's planning to go for the weapons," Edward laughed darkly, "I don't think your little policeman's gun will be much use to you now, Charlie"

"How- how did you-," Charlie choked.

"Edward can read your mind, and Alice can see the future," said Carlisle casually as though they were common talents.

"We may want to go outside for Charlie to see what Emmett can do," Esme pointed out.

We all moved towards the door. Edward broke away from the group, rushing to my side.

"Bella, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he said softly.

"It's ok," I mumbled, " I know you had to do it."

I watched in silent anguish as Emmett ripped up a tree from our backyard and lifted it over his head all without making a sound. Charlie grew more and more frightened with each passing second and then, just as I thought I couldn't stand it for another moment, they stopped. Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Alice and Emmett all returned to the kind wonderful people that I loved. Edward had already dropped his cold angry façade and had stayed out of the final 'demonstrations'. He stayed with me, rubbing my shoulders comfortingly and reassuring me that it was almost over. Everyone stood there for a while, unsure what to say and eventually I realized that they were all waiting for me to say something.

"I'm sorry dad," I sobbed, "This isn't how I wanted you to find out. Well, really I didn't want you to know at all but you were always so horrible to Edward and I needed you to understand why he left. You've seen what they can do. He wanted me to be safe."

"Then why did he come back?" Charlie demanded. I could see that the shock was wearing off and he was angry again, "He's dangerous, Bella, get away from him."

"Bella, I think your father and I need to talk," Carlisle intervened. I was grateful, and I hurried away with Edward before Charlie could try to separate us again.

After an hour or so, Charlie and Carlisle returned and I was relieved to note that Charlie appeared much less hostile. He approached us and addressed Edward.

"I just want you to know that if you hurt her again in any way, I'll do everything I can to make sure you're killed. I know that won't be easy, but I will do it."

"Dad!" I protested but Edward replied:

"It wouldn't be necessary, Chief Swan. If anything ever happened to Bella, I'd kill myself."

Charlie nodded, seemingly satisfied.

Afterwards, everyone seemed a little unsure of what to do, but Charlie invited the Cullens to stay for a while. Edward and I sat on the couch pretending to watch TV while the rest of his family chatted casually with Charlie. It all seemed so strange for everyone to be so at ease so quickly. Alice joined us after a while and we talked about school and other unimportant matters.

Suddenly, Edward and Alice both became rigid in their seats. I looked up to locate the source of the problem and that's when I noticed that there were no longer only six people in the room who were not human. I stood up quickly, backing away. The newcomer was standing in the middle of the room and Emmett looked as though he were about to attack. Esme and Carlisle were restraining him and as I glanced back at the couch, I noticed that Alice was restraining Edward as well.

"Greetings," Victoria purred in a light teasing voice. Edward snarled furiously and struggled to free himself from Alice's grasp. It looked as though he was going to succeed but Rosalie rushed in to help her.

"What do you want," asked Carlisle curtly.

"The human girl of course," she replied as though speaking to a child.

"Well, there are six of us and only one of you," said Emmett rudely.

"Naturally, I noticed that," she replied indignantly, "This is only your warning. I thought I'd give you the chance to give her up without a fight, but if you're determined to hang on to her for as long as you can that's your choice. Just remember, it will be much more difficult for her this way."

"We don't have any idea what you're talking about, but you'd better leave and not come back if you don't want us to destroy you," Esme spat. I'd never seen her so angry.

"I will leave," she surprised us, " For now. But think about what you're doing. Bella, are you sure you want this to be so hard? We could end this right now."

My throat was tight. I couldn't say anything. I just gaped at her in horror at her suggestion that I would actually let her near me.

She waited for an answer but when it didn't come she just narrowed her eyes and turned back to Carlisle and Esme.

"You won't be able to protect her forever you know. You're only delaying the inevitable. After what happened to James, you think I'm going to let this go?"

"Nonetheless, we outnumber you. If it comes to a fight we'll win." Carlisle replied evenly.

"Odds can change," Victoria hissed.

And then she was gone.


	5. Suspense

"I'm going to let you go, but you have to promise not to go after her," Alice told Edward sternly. He nodded reluctantly.

She and Rosalie relaxed their grip and in less than a second his arms were around me. Slowly, my muscles, frozen with fear, relaxed and I melted into his strong figure. Neither one of us moved for several minutes but eventually I raised my head from his shoulder to interpret the others' reactions. Emmett and Rosalie stood off In the corner, embracing, both looking very distressed. Carlisle had his hands on Esme's should as they exchanged anxious whispers. Alice and Charlie glanced around awkwardly, and I didn't need Edward's special abilities to know that Alice was wishing Jasper hadn't stayed home. None of these seemed like hopeful signs. Alice was the first to try to break the awkward half silence.

"What do we do now?" she wondered aloud.

"Edward," I spoke up, "You could change me now! That would solve everything!"

"No," he refused immediately. I glared at him.

"Do it," I insisted, holding out my arm, "Do it now, Edward before it's too late."

"I won't do that to you. Not yet."

I looked at Carlisle.

"Edward's right, Bella," he said gently, " It's not the time. I'd prefer to find a loophole in that treaty before your transformation. We should avoid a war if we can. Besides we can't do it here. It would attract far too much attention."

"I don't like the idea of you becoming one of them," Charlie butted in, "It sounds dangerous.

"Dad, I have to do this," I told him, "Don't you want me to be happy?"

"Of course, but Bella…well, I thought you were happy living here with me. I'll probably never see you again," Charlie said sadly.

"That's ridiculous," I replied firmly, "I can come back to visit as often as you want. But now is really not the time to discuss this. If you don't want to change me yet, what are we going to do?"

"Nothing!" Edward cut in quickly, "Bella, nothing needs to change. You're perfectly safe with me. I can protect you if she ever comes back. It's not as though this came as a surprise."

Surprisingly, everyone seemed to agree with Edward, although, everyone seemed to be of the opinion that there should be multiple vampires guarding me in case Victoria really did find a larger group. But since they couldn't all spend all their time watching me, they eventually decided that I needed two "bodyguards" at all times. Naturally, I didn't get a say in any of this. Edward, of course refused to leave me, so the others all took shifts. It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. I was used to having Edward around constantly and the others were good at staying out of the way. I barely noticed them. They always stayed close enough that they would be able to help in a second if Victoria were to appear, but thanks to their superhuman abilities, they could stay far enough away to allow me and Edward some privacy. Despite the fact that I spent all my time with Edward, those few weeks were horrible. Edward grew more and more protective as time wore on, eventually going for longer and longer periods without hunting. Charlie and all the Cullens were always very tense and nervous as though expecting Victoria to jump out at any moment. As for me, all I could bring myself to feel was a dull anticipation. In a sick sort of way, I was almost excited for the moment of confrontation. I couldn't make myself enjoy what I knew could easily be the last few weeks I ever spent with either of my families. My desire for this horrible waiting to end outweighed all desire to hold on to what I had for as long as possible.

After a while I began to notice Edward's eyes darkening at an alarming pace. Several times, I suggested he would be better off to go hunt, but he adamantly refused to be away from me even for a few hours. Finally his eyes became completely black and he was constantly tense. I tried to be understanding, staying as far as possible, avoiding sudden movements that could send powerful waves of my scent towards him. One night as I lay in my bed, his thirst had grown so intense that he had to sit way on the other side of the room. His hands were curled into tight fists ad his jaw was clenched. In couldn't take it any longer, and neither could he as far as I could see.

"Edward, this is ridiculous," I snapped at him, "Go find yourself a nice mountain lion. If you kill me now, all of this will have been a big waste of everyone's time". He winced at the thought of hurting me, but he was no longer so determined to resist.

"You'll be alright? I'll have Alice come watch you, of course," he said weakly, reassuring himself, more than me.

"I'm fine," I insisted firmly, "Emmett's outside, what could possible happen? He can take on three of them at once! Victoria's no match for your brother".

"Here, take Alice's cell phone. Call if you want me to come back. I won't be far," he replied, resigned.

"Won't Alice need it," I worried.

"Emmett can call if any of you need to get in touch with the rest of the family, and as for getting in touch with me…" he grinned briefly, "Alice and I have much more creative was of communicating," he reminded me.

"Right," I remembered sheepishly, "You'll be that close then?"

"I'll never be far from you again. Ever," he vowed, kissing my forehead quickly. And then he was gone. While I lay restlessly in bed, I contemplated the look I had seen in his eyes as he left. Even in their current state of inky blackness, the internal conflict was apparent. He looked worried but to my relief his eyes didn't hold that blank, dead-looking quality that I feared above all else. He expected to see me soon, then. That thought was comforting enough to ease my mind temporarily, allowing me to drift off to sleep. My last thought as I closed my eyes was a silent desperate prayer for a dreamless slumber.

My next memory was of Alice jerking me violently awake.

"Alice," I groaned irritably, "Easy on the human. We can't all be immortal superbeings…yet".

"Bella, get up," she hissed.

"Once again, would you have some respect for my delicate mortal state? I need to sleep, you know!"

"Someone's coming! Oh god, what am I going to do?" she wailed, frantically wringing her hands.

"Someone as in a vampire?" I squeaked, "Victoria?"

"I don't know," Alice admitted miserably, "No scent yet. All I could see were those awful red eyes"

"Alice, I can smell someone coming," called Emmett as he hurtled through the window sounding thoroughly unconcerned.

"And you don't think that might be a problem, Emmett?" Alice seethed.

"There are only three," he scoffed, "I could take them all by myself.

Alice frowned, confused.

"Two or three?" she marveled, " I was under the impression she was bring some sort of army after us. How does she expect to take Bella with two or three vampires? Well, anyway, did you recognize the scent?"

"Victoria's definitely one of them," he confirmed, "But as far as the others…" he shrugged.

"Do you think, Bella and I should leave? As a precaution, I mean. Maybe we should switch clothes too. Or we could stop at the house and borrow Rosalie's they'd probably fit better" Alice muttered, mostly to herself.

"No!" I exclaimed, "If there's no danger, I want to stay here. If we leave, who knows when I'll see Edward again?"

Alice looked slightly uneasy, but she nodded.

"I supposed you're right," she conceded, "But at least stay behind me and Emmett at all times."

A few moments later, we were standing in my front yard. Alice and Emmett didn't want to damage the house trying to protect me. It seemed a strange thing to be worrying about as the danger of three evil vampires became more real with each passing second, but I supposed it wasn't a bad idea. I saw the vampires approaching only for a few seconds before they were standing in front of us. Victoria and her companions all wore long hooded cloaks so we couldn't see their pale faces.

"Good evening," Victoria purred, taking a step towards us. I backed away, searching for something to steady myself against. I had forgotten how much Victoria frightened me. I was beginning to wish that Alice and I had left after all.

"So this is your big challenge? Three vampires?" Alice snarled.

"Don't get cocky, Alice. Just because it doesn't take more than three to capture one pathetic little human doesn't mean there aren't more."

"That pathetic little human is guarded by one of the largest and most powerful vampire families in the world," Emmett growled.

"I only see two of you here now," Victoria pointed out with satisfaction, "I hadn't expected this to be so easy".

"It won't be. The others will arrive any minute," Emmett assured her coldly.

"They'll be too late, then," Victoria sneered, motioning to her two companions. They removed their hoods in perfect unison. When I glimpsed the face of the vampire on Victoria's right, the shock was great enough to release my vocal chords from the icy prison of fear that clutched at them. The vampire was Jane.

"How did you get them on your side?" I gasped.

"Oh it talks," Victoria spat, "I'm their informant," she announced proudly.

I watched in horror as the unfamiliar vampire revealed the talent which made him valuable enough to join the Volturi. Without touching him, the new vampire had lifted Emmett into the air and hurtled him into a tree on the edge of the forest next to our house.

I glanced at Alice, and to my horror, Jane had unleashed her powers on her. I couldn't help relieving the painful memories of last spring's haunting visit to Italy. I tried to look away but every time my eyes closed, Alice's tortured face was replaced by Edward's, which was infinitely worse. Once Victoria was satisfied that Alice and Emmett were sufficiently incapacitated, she seized my arm and dragged me roughly away. In the split second that I had to look back, I could have sworn that I could make out the far off shape of Edward approaching. Alice must have alerted him mentally to our distress, but he was too late. He couldn't save me now.


	6. Into the Darkness

I woke up alone, terrified and shivering. My stubborn attempts at staying awake on the journey here had all failed, my efforts wasted. So, of course, I now had no idea where I was. I knew that didn't really matter. Even if I knew where I was, there was no way for me to communicate with Edward now. He would never find me. Still, I racked my brains trying to discover some small clue as to my whereabouts. I knew we had driven for several days in Victoria's cramped sports car, but my memory turned hazy after we passed Seattle.

Looking around in the dim lighting, I could tell that I was in a fairly small room, empty except for a grungy old toilet in a separate section in the back. There was no sink, no shower, and no bed. I knew this was nothing to do with being oblivious to my human needs, and that they were simply trying to meet those needs in the most minimal ways possible. It wasn't as though I had expected great comfort in this place, but all the same, I wasn't accustomed to such harsh surroundings. This bare room with its plain concrete walls and floors didn't strike me as the kind of place I would enjoy being trapped in for however long they chose to imprison me here. Even the hospital had had better hospitality.

I slowly came to the realization that this could be the end for me. I could die here, alone and nobody who cared about me would know before it was too late. I fought to stay calm as these thoughts entered my mind, but they incited a feeling of panic. What if I never saw Edward again? This thought was too much to bear and as it struck me, I recognized a familiar feeling, one I thought I would never have to face again. It was a pain I hadn't been forced to endure for a few months now, but I was dismayed to note that it was as strong and sickening as it had ever been. It was the hole in my chest. It seemed eager to make up for its absence by growing stronger than I remembered it. Then again, that was probably just the element of surprise. The last time this had happened, it had been caused by thinking that Edward wasn't the slightest bit concerned by what happened to me anymore. I knew that couldn't be the cause this time, so I suppose it must have been the thought that I would never see him again. Although Victoria probably didn't know it, this torture was worse than any others she would force me to endure.

I don't know how long I sat there in silence, dreading whatever came next. I tried to go back to sleep, but there was no escaping my terrified thoughts. Eventually, Victoria entered. She smirked as she took in my appearance. I realized I must be a complete mess. I was still wearing my thin tank top and flannel Capri pyjamas. They were dirty and the pants had a large hole from where they had gotten caught on the door getting out of Victoria's car at a small rest stop just outside of Seattle and several smaller holes from the three times I had fallen on the way back to the car. I tried to remember how I had managed walking with my terrible clumsiness before I had known Edward, but the answer eluded me. I hadn't washed since I left home so my hair must have looked awful as well. I didn't know what Victoria planned to accomplish by making me look disgusting but she seemed self-satisfied, so I kept quiet.

"So, I'm smarter than you thought I was, aren't I?" Victoria bragged. It seemed like a trick question but I thought it safer not to disagree with her, so I nodded slightly.

"Well, now that you're here, I suppose there are some things we should discuss, aren't there?" she asked, rhetorically, "First of all, I wouldn't try to escape if I were you. After all, you're in a building full of vampires with excellent senses and you're just a clumsy human. Not to mention there's no way you'll get back to Forks from here before we caught you. Next, there was a meeting a few days ago back in Forks between my new coven and your little friends. I was going to bring a video camera so you could watch it live, but you've been sleeping for almost a week now, so I figured I'd better just give you the gory details myself. We left on Sunday to go back to Forks. I was the only vampire chosen to go with Aro, Caius and Marcus… I seem to be a new favourite of theirs. Anyhow, we were actually outnumbered when we got there because your side decided to bring the whole family. And your father was there as well, although that large male was guarding him the whole time-

"Charlie was there? Is he okay?" I interrupted… I couldn't resist. I was afraid of Victoria certainly, but this was my only chance to gain information concerning Charlie and the Cullens.

"He's fine," She snapped, "Looked terrible, though. Like he hadn't slept in days. I think he'd been crying too, although it's been so long since I've been around creatures weak enough to be capable of tears, I doubt I can recognize the signs properly. And that man certainly doesn't take care of himself properly. He was a mess. There was food all over his clothes and I don't think he washes his hair."

My heart sank. None of those things sounded like Charlie at all. He must be more affected by this than I had expected and I felt strangely responsible for his suffering.

"Not that he looked anywhere near as bad as that other one, what's his name? Your mate?" she inquired casually.

"Edward," I whispered, feeling a sharp pang in the infamous hole.

"That's right. Obviously he looked alright physically, vampires don't really need to bother with all that washing and eating business, but you could just see from his eyes that he's blaming himself for this whole ordeal. It couldn't be more satisfying. A lifetime of that and he'll be properly punished for what he did to James."

Her words hit me like knives, twisting my stomach into knots. Edward was blaming himself for this. The idea of him having to live with that brought tears to my eyes, and I'm sure that's exactly what Victoria had intended.

"Don't cry," She mocked, "there's much more to come, and I wouldn't want you to be too upset to hear the good part! There was a long discussion between the two parties, I won't bore you with the details, but I'll give you a general idea. Your coven has broken the international laws of our kind yet again, and there is a severe punishment. They have told humans of our existence twice now, once to you and then to your father. This is a very serious offence as far as we are concerned. Caius and I were all for having the whole lot of you sentenced to death, but of course when it comes to a negotiation, those three can never agree on anything. Aro wanted to make an exception due to your fascinating talents and Marcus didn't much care one way or another. In the end we worked out a deal that unless your family can come up with a way to make all of this go away in 2 months, I'm free to dispose of you and your pathetic father at my leisure. Personally I'm fairly confident that our three leaders will grow tired of waiting long before the time is up."

So she didn't know as much about the Volturi as our side did. Well, that was a good thing, I suppose, though I didn't see how it would help us.

""But even if they don't decide to let me at you before the two months are up…I have their permission to do whatever I want with you as long as you stay alive. I think it's going to be a very interesting two months, don't you?"

My blood froze and a sinking horror grew within me. I had not expected this to be a pleasant visit, but I had at least hoped that the Volturi would be kind enough to rein Victoria in a bit. Not that I would ever consider them to be on my side or anything, but Aro at least had been forgiving during our last encounter. Now I knew there would be no form of relief for the next two months and in the end, I would die without saying goodbye to Edward. That day, Victoria left without doing anything to me, but I cried myself to sleep, unable to push away the images of the next couple of months that my mind insisted on fabricating.

The next month was even more horrible than I could imagine. Victoria's form of torture was simple. Every second day, she would come in and turn the thermostat as high as it could possibly go without killing me. I was forced to lie unmoving on the grimy concrete, trying desperately to coax some small amount of coolness from the rough surface. My light spring pyjamas no longer seemed so light, and I found myself pulling the pant legs up as high as they would go to stop them from sticking to my sweaty legs. The next day, just as I thought I would die if I had to endure another second of the unbearable heat, when I was soaked completely through and through with sweat and tears, my relief would come. The temperature would drop swiftly and I had a few precious minutes of pleasant coolness. Then it was over and the temperature continued to drop until it was so cold I couldn't hear my shaky breaths over the sound of my teeth chattering. This part was even worse. Drenched from the day before, the moisture would embrace the cold, shoving it violently against my frigid skin. I spent the whole day huddle in a corner, curled up tightly to trap whatever heat may have been left in my exhausted body. And still the tears seemed to come until I had cried all the tears that were left for me to cry.

After one week, I discovered another detail of Victoria's twisted little scheme. She was determined to ascertain that I knew exactly how much time had passed…and how much I had left. But if she was trying to be the Wicked Witch of the West, she could at least have done it right. She could have told me how much time, or ticked off the days on a calendar. But instead, she would come in once a week and break one of my fingers to alert me to the fact that it had been one week. So every day I would shiver or perspire in my dark little cell, nursing my throbbing hand and praying desperately for Edward to come and save me even if our freedom didn't last, because if there had to be a 'last time I saw him', I wanted to know it was the last time. I wanted to leave nothing unfinished and make sure he never blamed himself for any of the things that had happened to me. If I couldn't go on, he would have to go on without me. I was almost certain that if I could speak to Edward before we were torn apart forever, the hold in my chest would disappear again and I could bear the rest of the pain until the end. Because truly, No matter how unbearable the heat got, no matter how ruthless the cold, no matter how harshly that monster tortured me, there was nothing as horrible as that gaping wound in my chest. There was nothing that could compare to the loss, loneliness and hopelessness that ate away at me every day. And so I waited. For Edward or for the end.


	7. Lifeline

Day after day, I remained in darkness, waiting and growing weaker. Eventually, I could no longer stand up because I was so tired. I barely slept thanks to Victoria's extreme temperature trick. I lost sight of all hope and concentrated on merely keeping myself alive, for another minute, another hour, another day.

The one day that I remember most clearly out of the many that I spent trapped was the day after Victoria had broken my fourth finger, signifying that I had been there exactly one month. It was one of the unbearable heat days, and I was lying on the ground when the thing that made this day memorable occurred. I had just shifted to another position, in another useless attempt at cooling myself down, when I felt something hard and smooth press into my leg. I reached warily into my pocket, prepared for disappointment, and pulled out a thin, sleek silver object. It was Alice's cellphone. I didn't understand how I could have missed it up until now, but it was so thin that it really wasn't something you would notice unless it poked you in the right spot. I pressed the power button, my fingers trembling. If this worked, I could talk to the cullens and find out if they'd made any progress with finding me. The little screen illuminated, it's faint light a beacon of hope. A little message flashed across the screen. _37 missed calls._ Obviously they had already realized that I had the phone. The number that the calls were coming from seemed familiar. The Cullens' home number maybe? Or did Alice have another cellphone? I couldn't be sure, but that sounded like her. I hit reply. The phone rang once and then there was a click signalling that someone had picked up the phone.

"Alice?" I demanded eagerly, " Is that you? Oh, god, I hope it is, it's me, Bella, I have your phone. Alice, say something". Apparently my weeks of imprisonment had instilled a babbling tendency in me. I heard a strained quiet laugh on the other end. It wasn't Alice.

"Sorry, this isn't Alice. Are you disappointed?" Edward asked, amused, though his melodic voice was tainted with anxiety.

"Edward!" I exclaimed, overjoyed. Of course the number was familiar. I hadn't recognized it instantly because I rarely needed to call Edward. He was always with me.

"Yes, it's me. I'm so glad you found the phone. Alice realized right away that you still had it, but it was turned off, so we couldn't call…poor Alice. She feels awful. I keep telling her it's not her fault. But that's not important. Are you alright? It's been so awful these past few weeks, not even knowing if you were alive..."  
"I have to get out of here, Edward," I told him, "Being here...it's a nightmare. I have to wake up. I need you," I admitted, tears stinging my eyes.  
"Bella, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I should have been there. I could have stopped her. I should never have-"  
"Stop," I begged softly, though it took a great deal of effort and will power to interrupt the smooth flow of his words. I wanted nothing more than to sit here and listen to him speak, imagining that he was in the room with me. True, I was terrified and hated this dark cold room but if Edward were here, I wouldn't be afraid. There was no situation dire enough that it couldn't be improved by his presence.  
"Please, don't blame yourself," I pleaded gently, for there was nothing more excruciating than hearing pain in his perfect voice.  
"You didn't answer my question," he reminded me, avoiding having to reply, "Are you alright? What did she do to you?"  
"Umm...she-uh..." I stalled, trying to come up with a plausible lie. If he knew the truth it would only add to his suffering. But I wasn't quick enough.  
"She hurt you, didn't she?" he growled through clenched teeth. I could hear voices in the background.  
"_Calm __down__ Edward. I know you're upset but getting angry isn't going to solve anything!" _Alice.  
"_Yeah, you look like a transforming werewolf,"_ Emmett guffawed.  
"_That's not helpful, Emmett! He's got a right to be upset. Teasing isn't going to calm him down!" _Alice scolded irritably. The voices faded, but I had heard enough to understand the full extent of the situation. This was causing a veritable strain on the entire Cullen family. They were not acting like themselves at all. I knew the family well enough to be certain that they were not the type to bicker needlessly over small disagreements. And Alice was _never _irritable.  
"Bella, what did she do?" Edward asked again. His breathing was heavy and I knew it was only his immortality that kept him from crying.  
"I have to go, Victoria could come back any minute and I don't want to waste the battery on this thing," I told him reluctantly, "You don't want to know what she'd do if she caught me talking to you," I added so he wouldn't try to stop me.  
"Bella, wait. Before you go...do you have any idea where you are?" he asked hopefully, "Any idea at all?"  
"No, I'm sorry," I answered apologetically.  
"Try to find out," he instructed me.  
"Well, I'll try, but..."  
"But don't ask her anything that will make her hurt you more," he cautioned.  
"Ok. Bye, Edward," I said, struggling to keep my voice from cracking, "I'll call again. Soon."  
"Call me every day, please," he begged, "You don't have to talk long, I just need to know that you're alive. I love you. Try to be safe".  
He hung up immediately afterwards. He must have taken my warning about Victoria showing up pretty seriously.

The only thing that got me through the next few days were my daily phone calls to Edward. No matter how unbearable Victoria's tortures were, I took comfort in Edward's soothing voice. The contact was brief, I only talked to him for a few seconds each day, but there was infinite comfort in being reminded that there was someone somewhere who loved me. They had no new leads as far as discovering my whereabouts was concerned, but just talking to Edward made me hopeful.

When this ritual had gone on for several days, I noticed a growing change in the attitude of my captor. Usually when she came to torment me, she was suprememly confident, taunting me mercilessly, taking a twisted delight in my pain, but her behaviour had started displaying a more sullen tendancy. I could tell she was supicious. I feared that she had noticed the rekindling of hope within me or the futility of her stubborn attempts to break me, and knew that something had changed. Before I had received that fateful call, Victoria had all but succeeded in destroying whatever spirit I had left but the hope of rescue had ignited a fiery resistance in me, sparking an iron will that I had never known I had and I struggled violently to keep from displaying the effects of Victoria's cruelty. I now realized that this was a mistake. I tried futilely to act as though gripped by despair, but, as Edward had once playfully informed me, I was a terrible actress. And this was confirmed when my efforts did nothing to fool Victoria. A few days later she installed a tiny video camera in my room.

"To keep an eye on you," she informed me shrewdly, eyes narrowed with constant suspicion.

I grew to detest the tiny camera with its' glowing "on" light that became Victoria's evil crimson eyes whenever I looked at it for too long or allowed it to catch my eye while my mind was off its guard. This loathsome little piece of machinery forced me to confine my phone calls to the cramped makeshift bathroom that was set up in a walled off section of my prison, where Victoria couldn't see what I was doing. I perfected a whisper so quiet that it would remain undetected by the camera's sensitive speakers but mostly I let Edward do the talking anyway. He was aware of my plight concerning the camera and was perfectly happy to demonstrate his uncanny ability to select the precise pitch, tone and volume to conceal his voice from the speakers while making it entirely clear to my ears.

Victoria grew more and more agitated as time wore on and she could find no explanation in her security videos for my sudden change in mood. But she wasn't the only one who was upset. Edward gave me daily updates on what was happening back in Forks, and it didn't give me a very hopeful outlook on things. Apparently, Carlisle and Esme continued to discuss strategies of how they could negotiate to get me back. I shared Edward and his siblings' view that the Volturi would have used some other form of bait if they ever intended to let me live. The younger Cullens held separate meetings to come discuss alternative methods of freeing me. Jasper and Emmett thought it would be fastest to hire a tracker. Alice proposed that, in the interest of time, it would be more beneficial to try tracking me themselves. Edward was quite a fan of this plan as it presented much less danger to me. The only one not involved in the discussions was Charlie. He was still in shock, according to Edward, but he finally seemed to accept what we had been trying to tell him as the truth. Edward mentioned that he was eager to help find me any way he could, but I didn't see what use he could be. For the moment, the best thing they had come up with was Alice and Edward's useless tracking scheme.

"You're hopeless at tracking," I reminded him in exasperation. I wished one of them would come up with something that could actually work.

"I know..." he admitted sadly, "but maybe Alice or Emmett...we'll think of something, Bella. Don't give up."

The situation deteriorated day by day. Alice and Rosalie were disgusted with Emmett and Jaspers' plan and its high level of risk and each refused to speak to their respective spouses. All of the siblings maintained a stony silence towards their adoptive parents, who refused to come up with a half decent plan, except at the mandatory meetings that were held daily and usually turned into a shouting match. I begged Edward to let me in on one of these meetings and let me have a say in all of this but he "didn't want me to worry about anything except staying alive". I found that ridiculous but I didn't argue too much, since I knew that that would be a long phone call and the battery, which had been full when I first discovered the phone had dwindled to half of that. The little battery symbol glowed ominously at me after each phone call in the few seconds between when I hung up and when the screen went black.

Edward reminded me often to try to find out where I was. He promised that he would be here as fast as he possibly could once he knew where to go. I wanted that more than anything. Every day I fantasized that at any moment he would come bursting through the door and whisk me away to safety where I would never have to endure another moment of pain, but my fear of Victoria made me hesitate to make my dream a reality. Several times, I tried to speak when she came in to fiddle with the thermostat or crush more of my bones, but the terror that made me freeze when she entered the room wouldn't release my powers of speech to me until she was a safe distance away.

I tried every day to find the courage to speak but Victoria's cold suspicion made me hesitate. Should I really be asking a question like that when she thought I was up to something? However, as things grew worse at the Cullen place, it became easier to act as though I had lost all hope. The phone calls, which had been such a relief at first became an obligation. Each day I received an update of how much worse everything had become in my absence. In addition to that, it was so hard to have to say goodbye to Edward after only a few moments of talking to him. I began to think it would be easier if I couldn't talk to him at all. My hope of rescue was fading and every day I feared that the next phone call would be the last time I ever heard Edward's voice. I felt horribly guilty for causing the irrational behaviour in the normally coolheaded Cullens, especially Edward. I knew it looked more and more like I had lost hope. Did that mean I had? In any case, Victoria seemed to buy it and she seemed happier all the time, though the video camera stayed where it was. I knew that now was the time to make my move.

One day, when I had been trembling in the cold for hours on end, I made up my mind that I would have to force myself to form coherent sentences when Victoria entered. I spent most of the day mentally preparing myself, deciding what to say. When she sprang through the doorway in her feline manner, the horror gripped me as always but my tongue was relaxed enough to allow me to form words.  
"Good morning, Bella" she purred, cynical and condescending as ever.  
"Good morning," I replied with something resembling confidence. She looked shocked but she smiled evilly.  
"Coming out of your shell? You finally have the courage to stand up to the scary monster?" she sneered.  
"Not really," I replied evenly, hoping she couldn't detect the wildly rapid pace of my heartbeat, "I just wanted to know something".  
"Well, whatever it is, I probably won't tell you, but I suppose there's no harm in asking," she sniffed haughtily.  
"Where are we?" I asked, praying that my tone didn't give away my desperate desire for an answer.  
"Hah! You think I'd tell you that?" she laughed cruelly.  
"Why not?" I inquired, disappointed, "It's not as though I can escape."  
"No," she remembered, "But that doesn't matter. I have no intention of indulging your curiosity. It's so much more fun to keep you guessing." she grinned and pranced out of my cell, looking more self-satisfied than ever.


	8. Fading Hope

My situation was growing worse at the same alarming rate as the situation back home. I was a wreck, tortured by the brevity of my communication with Edward. He barely had time to tell me loved me now before I had to hang up, haunted by the draining battery. Victoria seemed to remain unaware of what was happening, but I can't be sure. All I know is that eventually we were discovered.

Looking back, I can remember one day, when Edward and I were arguing about the best was to remedy the situation and I raised my voice angrily, only for a moment, but it probably would have been enough. This was most likely my critical mistake, but it seemed harmless enough at the time. It seemed as though Victoria had noticed nothing, so I kept up the usual ritual, but all the time, she was probably plotting to come up with the best possible moment to catch me in the act, as well as speaking to all of her superiors to get permission for her cruel and twisted plots.

And so, one day, without so much as a second's warning, Victoria swooped into my cell, bursting straight through the wall in a fit of rage and into my hiding place. Bits of shattered metal flew at me. I closed my eyes, but they continued to pepper my eyelids and make shallow stinging cuts all over my face and bare arms. She snatched the phone from my hand, and pulled it out of my reach.  
"You'll never see her alive again," she shrieked into the phone in a crazed manner before throwing my lifeline to the ground and crushing it with her pointy stiletto heel.  
"No," I croaked softly, unable to stop the flow of tears.  
She turned on me then, her eyes wild with fury as the back of her hand exploded against my cheek, the colossal force of her inhuman strength propelling me backwards into the wall. The sound of the impact echoed quietly with a hollow ringing sound. She pinned me to the floor, her livid face just inches from mine.  
"You know," she hissed, "You would have had almost a month to live if your mate hadn't interfered. He killed you...and I'll make sure he knows it". I fought against the nausea that engulfed me as my mouth filled with blood seeping from where my teeth had collided with my cheek from the force of her blow. The inescapable smell of rust and salt made my head spin dizzyingly.

"No! Don't tell him that, please! He'll blame himself anyway," I gasped, struggling to concentrate on what I was saying instead of the stinging and aching all over my body. "Don't hurt him like that," I begged futilely.

"I want him to understand how I've felt since he killed James!" she spat. As heartbroken as I knew she was, I could never bring myself to feel sympathy for her, knowing she was dealing with her pain by causing pain to me and everyone I loved.

"You can't do that to him," I shouted recklessly, as though anything I said mattered at this point, "Please, just tell him the truth…that I'm glad it's all over. Dying now is better than another month in this place."

"I'll tell him whatever the hell I want to!" Victoria snapped, "I'll be back…I've spoken to Marcus and Aro. They're on my side. Your vampires violated our agreement. All I need is Caius's approval and then I'll have the right to dispose of you as I wish…oh and did I mention they also approved your father's execution?" she grinned evilly and flounced out the door.

Everything seemed to freeze. Despite the sickening heat, I felt numb and cold. Charlie was going to die and it was all my fault. When I had come to Forks at the beginning of last year, I had truly believed that I was doing everyone a favour. My mother would be happy, and my father wouldn't be lonely anymore. Now, I had succeeded in destroying the lives of countless people. Renee would probably never recover from losing her only daughter. Edward would be consumed by guilt and grief and would most likely kill himself, which, of course would be devastating for the entire Cullen family. Horrible as it may sound, some part of me hoped that Jacob Black might be affected as well. With a jolt, I realized that it had been ages since I'd thought of my best friend. I knew he was angry with me, and I knew that enough people were going to be hurt, but was it so wrong for me to want Jake to be sad when I was gone? I walked slowly, miserably back into the main cell, to await my fate, wishing there were something I could do to prevent the whole tragedy.

I knew it was ridiculous, but I resorted to pounding and scratching at the walls, searching for a hollow area that could reveal some sort of exit. Victoria was much too smart to put me anywhere that I had a chance of escaping from, but the combination of desperation and the intense mind-numbing heat was dissolving my rationality at an alarming pace.

Eventually I had to give up when my weakened legs gave out from me and I collapsed on the floor. I stayed there, in a crumpled, broken heap, sobbing quietly, already mourning, for those who would soon be dead. My head pounded and my limbs refused to move, pinned down by the crushing weight of my exhaustion. The room spun and danced in my blurred vision as I patiently waited for something else to happen.

Soon enough, the rusty iron door handle was rotating painstakingly slowly. I assumed that Victoria must have been coming to put me out of my misery. It took a few seconds for me to focus of the flash of white that was her hand. It took another few moments for me to process that something was wrong with that hand. I realized in astonishment that it was clearly a man's hand. I couldn't understand it. Surely after all this, Victoria would insist on having the pleasure of killing me herself. Why on earth would she have sent someone else? Perhaps one of the leaders of the Volturi had refused to give her the privilege? Maybe one of them had decided that they would let me off easy with a quick, painless death. I noticed something else about the mysterious hand. It looked almost…familiar! It must be someone I'd encountered before then but it seemed a strange thing to recognize a hand. I was still trying to determine how a hand could look familiar when the body attached to it slipped cautiously through the doorway. The familiar hand was attached to a very familiar face. His eyes blazed with cold, untamed anger. I stared in shock; it was not someone I had expected to ever see again.


	9. Hysteria

**A/N: Ok, what kind of author would I be if I didn't include a chapter like this? Don't forget to review!**

Edward. Not just his voice this time, but every part of him. I could have sworn that he'd grown even more breathtaking since the last time we'd been together. His pale skin seemed to glow in the darkness of my prison. His eyes softened instantly when they met mine. In the time it took me to leap eagerly to my feet and stumble thanks to my dizziness and, of course, my usual clumsiness, he had already crossed the room and wrapped his arms around me to break my fall. We stared at each other for several moments, trying and hoping to believe that this miracle was real. I reached out slowly and hesitantly to touch him, terrified that when I did, the mirage would crumble, sending me tumbling to the floor, his phantom arms no longer supporting my weak body. Somehow, though, he remained, stroking my cheek gently as I closed my eyes, Allowing his cold fingers to soothe my flaming face, providing instant relief from the burning heat that had tormented me for so long. I marveled at how my problems always seemed to melt away the instant Edward returned to me. I started to drop my head, to rest it on his shoulder, but in a fraction of a second, Edward had stiffened and pulled away slightly.

"I have to get you out of here!" He breathed, sounding terrified.

He lifted me carefully but still blindingly quickly onto his back, and then we were flying through winding corridors, but only for a moment until we exited out into the cool night air. I caught a brief glimpse of the outside of the building where I'd been held captive. It seemed to be some sort of abandoned office building, quite obviously an old structure. As we darted through dark alleys, flashing images flew at me with alarming speed. I could tell we were in a city. Tall buildings loomed in ever direction, as though guarding the city and the only other humans we encountered were homeless drug addicts who would never be believed when they reounted the tale of how they had nearly been knocked over by a terrifying creature, racing through the streets like a hungry predator, and in any case, Edward didn't seem to care if we were seen. Tonight was about survival. For once in his long life, Edward was no longer the predator, but the prey.

The run seemed to last forever, though in truth it was shorter than many of the trips I had taken, clinging onto Edward's back. The ride lacked the exhilaration and thrill that I had come to associate with Edward's form of traveling. The wind stung my already painful cheeks and the cool night air felt glacial after the sweltering temperature of my cell. My teeth chattered, though whether it was from the cold or from the icy fear that gripped me, knowing that at any moment Victoria or another member of the Volturi could catch up to us at any moment, dragging me away from Edward and extinguishing our last spark of hope. I clung to Edward, painfully aware that this could be our last chance to be together.

Eventually, Edward gradually slowed and came to a stop. He looked down and me, frowning.

"We were supposed to run further he began sounding doubtful, "But, Bella, you look terrible, I don't think you're up to it."

"I'm fine, "I mumbled, not expecting him to believe me when I didn't believe it myself.

"No, you're not," he persisted, "I'll ask Alice to meet us here instead of the other meeting place. She's driving the getaway car," he displayed his beautiful crooked smile for a moment but his eyes remained sad and full of guilt.

"Where is here, exactly?" I asked him, trying to distract him with light chatter.

"You were being kept in downtown Vancouver…we're in North Vancouver now. Alice thought it would make a good meeting place. It's nice and quiet. And it always rains, which you know is pretty essential for us. It's getting near summer now, though, The Volturi can't remain here for long" he said distractedly, scanning the surroundings for signs of Alice and probably listening for her thoughts as well.

"Why is it so cold out here?" I complained shivering. Edward stared at me in shocked concern.

"It's not cold at all," he contradicted, sounding worried.

"What do you mean? It's freezing!" he looked stricken with anxiety, "It must be because it was so hot in there…" I continued quickly trying to sound convincing.

"Your cheeks are flushed," he noted.

"It's from the running," I explained rapidly but when he raised a hand to my forehead, I knew I was wrong. Edward swore quietly.

"Bella, I think you may be seriously ill. We have to get back to Forks as fast as we possibly can so that Carlisle can heal you…" he looked down, unable to meet my gaze, but I could still see his tortured expression, "I should have touhgt ot bring some medication. I should have known you would be sick!"

"Calm down!" I urged him desperately. The pain in his voice was threatening to send me back into hysterical tears, "It's not like I'm dying, Edward. You saved me. WE can be together now….for a little while at least."

"You're right, he finally admitted, grasping my hand.

I trid very hard not to wince but, it couldn't be avoided. Now that he had called attention to it, Edward could clearly see the bent and twisted shapes of my abused fingers. He glared furiously.

"Why on earth didn't you say anything about this, Bella?" he demanded. I figured that telling him I forgot wouldn't go over particularly well. He could clearly see how much pain the injuries were causing me. I took a risk and opted for the truth.

"I didn't want to upset you any more" I began, rushing the words, but the thoughts didn't escape my mouth quickly enough to allow me to finish before Edward started in on me.

"Isabella Swan, you are the most utterly ridiculous human I have ever encountered! How does your twisted mind come to these absurd conclusions? When you're being hunted by an evil sadistic vampire, your only apprehension is in regards to the immortal vampire you're in love with. And apparently, that love is worth far too much to you, because you would rather die than never hear my voice again. I still can't believe you jumped off a cliff over a stupid thing like that, when by all rights, you should have completely despised me. And now…you're being hunted by the sadistic evil vampire's sadistic evil mate, who is murderous and out for revenge and all you can think about is not bothering poor Edward with such an insignificant thing as a completely useless hand? What do I have to do to make you hurt me?" his voice had risen to a shout and I was quick to stop him.

"Shh! Calm _down_ Edward! That is _not_ what I meant!" I hissed, my voice barely audible over the echoes of Edward's furious tirade, which still rang in the ruins of the broken silence. "You want this to be about me? Well, that's good, because it is. It is all about me, Edward. This has nothing to do with preserving your fragile feelings, ok? I'm selfless sometimes, but not that selfless. You need to be strong right now. You need to be your strongest and you need to be clear-headed and ready in case they come for me, because I'm not going back there, Edward. This may come as a shock to you after some of the things I've done, but I really and truly do not want to die. I want to live and I want to stay with you and if you're all upset about a couple of broken bones when they come for me, you're going to be distracted and you're not going to be able to fight them. You have to keep me safe" I was sobbing again now. My fears from earlier of being overheard had all been forgotten as I let my overwhelming terror and pain engulf me. I leaned heavily against an old half-dead birch tree, barely able to keep myself upright.

"Bella…" he whispered, finally understanding the full effect of my ordeal. He stepped hesitantly towards me, putting his hand on my arm. I threw myself at him desperately, burying my face in his shirt, letting the tears escape.

"Just relax…let me take everything from here" he murmured, his voice scarcely heard above my whimpers and shuddering gasps. My muscles gradually unknotted one by one, growing limp until I hung there suspended like a corpse in Edward's arms. I shivered as this comparison presented itself.

Suddenly, in a blinding series of light and motion, glaring headlights grew visible and we completed the transition into the car before I had the chance to blink. I studied the welcome familiar surroundings of the car's spotless interior.

"Why is Alice driving your car?" I asked Edward, confused.

"My car is nicer than hers," he replied teasingly, "I would have driven it myself, but I thought my assistance might be required elsewhere," he replied with an overly innocent tone, which made me suspicious enough to detect the underlying mischief. He reclined against the window in such a position that there was so little room he couldn't possibly expect me to be comfortable. He slid one arm across my shoulders easing me backwards. I lay back against him sighing contentedly. I greeted Alice lazily, not wanting to forget to do so before the amazingly wonderful safety of this warm atmosphere lulled me to sleep. I yawned, nestling my head into Edward's shoulder. He lifted my injured hand so delicately I could barely tell he was touching it. I opened my eyes halfway, marveling at how he could inspect the damage to my mangled fingers without hurting me at all. In fact, the coolness of his touch seemed to lessen the pain, providing a strange sense of temporary relief. I smiled and allowed my eyelids to drift closed once again.


	10. Drifting

**A/N: I'm sorry it's been such a long time. I had exams and I was going to mention it to you guys but I was too busy to even come on here. Anyway...here's the next chatper sorry it took so long. **

The ride back to forks was undoubtedly bittersweet. I was constantly terrified. I looked over my shoulder exactly 656 times over the course of that three day ride. I'm sure of the number because Edward was counting inan attempt to lighten the mood. He wasn't doing a very good job seeing as he was the most paranoid of all of us. Edward was dead set on going straight home so that Carlisle could deal with my injuries, but Alice was driving and she refused to deviate from Carlisle's clear instructions that we were to take a long and complicated route to throw them off our scent. This caused Edward to sulk and refuse to speak to Alice for several hours.I wasn't sure who I agreed with. I was sure Carlisle knew what was the best course of action, but on the other hand, every time I shifted slightly I managed to find some new bruise, cut, or sore place. Edward grumbled each time this happened, so I tried to remain still as much as possible.

The worst part, of course, was what happened to me in the one place Edward couldn't accompany and protect me...my nightmares. I dreamt repeatedly of dark rooms filled with leering red eyes. The themes always seemed to revolve around my own death or losing Edward. Twice, my screaming grew so loud and panicked that Alice had to pull over until Edward could wake me up and she could concentrate on driving again. When I could finally be consoled, I was horribly embarrassed about the whole thing, but between my awakening and when I came to my senses, I was a complete and utter wreck. I cried inconsolably and clung to Edward like we only had a few more seconds to live. I could tell that it bothered him intensely to see this, especially since I knew he blamed himself for the whole ordeal, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't be calm after some of the things I had to see. Edward was very tolerant. He never once drew attention to his own emotional suffering, simply did everything he could to help me control my hysteria until I was quiet enough for Alice to continue.But at the same time, even through all the pain and the fear, that ride seemed like the best thing that had ever happened. Finally I had uninterrupted time with Edward. The hours stretched on and I found myself able to forget my aching and fatigue and just stare into his perfect face, committing him to memory in case we were ever separated again. I think he was doing the same thing as well, but when I asked him, he denied it,  
insisting that he would never allow us to be separated again.

I can't even really explain the sense of intense relief that I felt during that long, semi-peaceful ride. I was so tired of being strong and brave and fighting just to keep from falling apart or dying. For the last month all I had done was fight this internal battle between the will to survive and my exhausted need to give in and let myself stop trying. There were days when the latter was stronger and I would stop eating the insufficient meals that the Volturi provided but in the end, the strong side always won out and I would push a little harder, even stand up to Victoria.The one thing that had always gotten me through was that I knew it would destroy Edward if I were killed. I figured he owed it to me now to take over everything, not that I even needeed to ask. He made sure I had enough food and forced Alice to stop at a small drug store at a rest stop in the middle of nowhere so he could get some cough syrup and painkillers for me, not that it did much to suppress my violent coughing or the aching that constantly ate away at my sanity. But the real battle I had had to face was internal, and the emotional support in the little shiny volvo was overwhelming. There  
was no more convincing myself to be strong. I didn't need to be strong when he was there. When I was alone, I could sob and be miserable all I wanted, and Victoria would be there, grinning and radiant, feeling like she was doing her duty to James. And all that did was make me more miserable. It was a miracle to be able to cry and have someone care.

The first day, we drove in silence. Alice was concentrating intently on driving and attempting to summon a vision at the same time. Edward and I were mentally exhausted and I slept most of the day while he rested his head against the window and closed his eyes, almost as though he were asleep as well. When I did wake up, the raspy cough I had developed paired with the fever and the weakness prevented me from moving much.The second day, we talked more. First I recounted my waking nightmare for Alice and Edward with a lot of tears and many long pauses. Alice looked tortured and horrified at my story and Edward grew more livid with each word I pronounced. His grip on me grew incrementally tighter as I continued my recitation and I caught him growling subtly more than once. When I finally revealed the nature of my broken fingers, Alice let out a little cry and Edward just clenched his teeth in silent outrage.That twisted little-" was all he managed to get out.

When I finished, it was at least an hour before we recovered enough for Alice and Edward to tell their part of the story.Alice was responsible for most of the narrative, seeing as Edward was still too angry to talk much. It turned out that the hero responsible for locating me was none other than my own father, who had used the phone tracking device at his office which he had yet to return to the Seattle police department since he had borrowed it to use during one of Forks' few murder cases. The murderer was never caught, but I know that James' coven was not the first of their kind to come visit the Cullens. During one of my phone calls with Edward, Charlie had been tracing the call and he got a definite signal coming from Vancouver.They had all agreed that it was best not to let me in on the plan in advance. If it failed, they knew I was even less ready than they were for that kind of disappointment. When Victoria had screamed her ominous warning into the phone, Edward and Alice were already halfway to Vancouver. Alice said she still couldn't believe that Edward had run all the rest of the way in under ten minutes. Even for a vampire it was astonishing. Edward told the rest of the story, since Alice wasn't there for that part."When I got near enough to hear their thoughts, those were the most terrifying moments of my life" he reflected quietly, "Every vampire in the building was thinking about you and about what was about to happen. The were  
all hurrying down to watch her kill you, like it was a sick type of entertainment for them. And then I heard Victoria's thoughts. I could see what she was planning to do to you, but I didn't know it was only a plan...I thought I was too late. It was so close.. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been there when I arrived." the pain in his voice was indescribable; It brought on a fresh flood of tears.

Nothing I said would stop Edward from feeling guilty. I tried so hard to convince him that none of this was his fault, but he was so stubborn about the whole thing."I failed you, Bella," He insisted, "I broke my promise. I said I would never be far from you again and within a few hours you were gone. I always seem to be the one making the mistakes in this relationship. Please don't try to make me feel better. I deserve this guilt." I gave up, praying that he would forgive himself eventually.

On the morning of the third day, I was gently awoken by a soft whispering breath flowing across my cheek.

"Bella," he murmured quietly, "Bella we're here"

I gave no reply except for a pitiful moan coming from some combination of fatigue and pain. I felt his solid arms snake around me and then I was lifted carefully from the leather seats which were still sticky from my tears.

A whirlwind of ecstatic greetings awaited me when we exited the car. All the Cullens were there with hugs and laughter and, though all eyes were dry except mine, I imagine they all would have been crying with relief to see me and Edward reunited if that had been possible. Even Rosalie greeted me warmly with a shy, friendly smile. As glad as I was to see them all again, the entire scene was considerable overwhelming and I felt as though I had been showed out from a dark quiet room into a crowded street full of flashing cameras. Edward picked up on my distress quickly and when Emmett lifted me high off the ground in a smothering greeting, accidentally squeezing my injured hand, Edward growled menacingly at him and snatched me back, whisking me away to his room where everything was quiet. I lay there, exhausted, cradled in his arms. He spoke to me only after we'd been there about an hour.

"Umm, just so you know, Bella," he said nervously, "There's something we have to talk about when you're feeling better. But for now you should sleep. Carlisle wants to examine you but I thought you should get some rest first."

Then, I drifted off to a peaceful dreamless slumber until I was sharply awakened by a violent knock on the Cullens' door.


	11. Mortal Enemies

**A/N : Hey everyone...sorry this chapter took so long. I haven't been near a computer for weeks. Don't expect any more updates any time soon, though, because I'm going on vacation tomorrow and won't be back until september. I might have time to post a few chapters while I'm there, but if I don't, don't get mad at me. I have about three or four more chapters written, but I need some time to type them.**

With the single loud thump that echoed through the spacious rooms of the house, the entire atmosphere shifted drastically. The easy feeling of exhausted relief gave way instantly to the tense, edgy alertness that I'd grown accustomed to. Edward leapt up, an angry snarl already building in the back of his throat. I shivered at what I expected to happen next. Edward took my arm firmly and led me down the stairs into the bright openness of the main floor, where the rest of the vampires had already formed a protective circle with an empty space in the middle. Edward thrust me forward and I stumbled into the empty space, feeling slightly disoriented.

Carlisle stepped out of the circle towards the door calmly, his face a mask of courteous indifference. All of the Cullens held expressions similar to his, unwilling to betray the raging turmoil boiling inside. The only indication that anything was unusual was the protective stance that each member of the family had taken in an attempt to ensure my safety. As Carlisle slowly twisted the doorknob, I cringed, not sure whether to expect a single enemy, such as Victoria, or the entire army of the Volturi sent on a mission to destroy us all. I knew my own features must have been giving away the fear that the Cullens chose to hide.

When the door swung open, however, I let out a gasp of intense relief. The figure standing on the other side of the threshold was not a cruel and bloodthirsty vampire and certainly not an army of them. It was none other than Jacob Black, looking very angry, but otherwise exactly the same as the last time that I had seen him - tall, strong and rugged.

"Jake!" I cried enthusiastically. I tried thoughtlessly to push past Esme and go greet Jake, but she held me back.

In my excitement, I had momentarily forgotten about the tense atmosphere. Now, however, I was uncomfortably aware of the stares of six angry vampires and one angry werewolf.

"What are you all doing?" I demanded. "Oh, this is ridiculous, I know you hate each other, but I don't need protection, Jake's not going to hurt me and there is not going to be a fight. I know you all too well and you wouldn't do that to me."

Esme shook her head. "Sorry, Bella," she whispered, her eyes downcast in shame.

"Let me go," I pleaded, "Edward, tell her to let me go!"

"You can't talk to him anymore, Bella. I'm so sorry." He too refused to meet my gaze as I stared at him, hurt and confused.

I glanced at Jake apologetically, but he looked away obstinately and addressed Carlisle instead.

"I've brought a message from the pack." He declared evenly, with no trace of nervousness, despite his surroundings and the fact that he was outnumbered six to one.

"Well, let's hear it and be done with it," Carlisle said impatiently, in a rude tone I would never have expected of him.

"You've broken the rules. Our treaty is broken. You have three weeks to prepare yourselves for battle. If I were you, I would surrender." His voice took on a cocky malice. "We have friends joining us from all over the continent. There's even a pack coming over from Europe. Too bad vampires are such solitary creatures," he smirked, "I doubt you even have friends of your own kind."

I stood there, shocked, grappling for words.

"What are you talking about, Jake?" I stammered, "Why? Why are you doing this?"

"I can't stop this, Bella," he told me, with just the slightest trace of regret, "Not even for you. They've crossed the line. You must understand that, Bella. I can't believe you went along with the whole thing. "

"What do you mean?" I asked, "I don't understand what this is all about!"

Jake's expression turned from soft and apologetic to clear, exposed fury.

"YOU HAVEN'T TOLD HER?" he roared at the Cullens.

"She's sick!" Edward snapped, "She's been locked in a cell for a month being tortured by a psychopathic vampire who wants her dead! Do you think she needs any extra stress right now? I'm trying to protect her and if you care about her, you'll do the same."

"Right," Jake snarled, "Because we all know you _always_ have her best interests at heart. Who do you think was protecting her when you were off on the other side of the world, leaving her here to fall apart completely?"

When Edward was unable to reply to this, Rosalie was the one to jump in.

"Don't pretend you have _any _idea what was going on in our lives then!" she hissed coldly, "You have no idea what his motives were. My brother is a good person! He was only trying to give her the chance to live a normal life. None of us knew what the outcome would be."

"Oh, well, why didn't he just ask your little resident psychic?" Jake demanded, "There are no excuses for what he did to her. It was just plain cruelty! That's the problem with you guys. Once your hearts stop beating, you feel free to walk all over everyone else's."

"Enough," Carlisle broke in sternly, "You delivered your message, now get out!"

"Not before you tell her," he insisted.

"Tell me what?" I was afraid of the answer.

"Nothing," said Edward, in a tone that was meant to be reassuring, "I'll tell you when you're feeling better. You should lie down, Bella, you're trembling." He reached out to carry me to the couch, but I drew back, afraid.

"Edward, you have to tell me," I begged.

"She has a right to know, Cullen, he's her father!" Jacob snapped.

"Charlie? What's wrong with Charlie?" I demanded frantically, 'What happened, Edward?"

"He's fine, Bella, I swear," Edward told me quietly, trying to take my hand. I pulled away sharply, and Edward shot Jacob a look of pure loathing.

"Then why did Jake come here? What did you do to my dad?" I screamed, panicked, my voice rising several octaves.

"Bella, you have to understand, it was Charlie's choice. He wanted us to do this. We were all only trying to keep you safe."

"But what did you do? I don't understand," I whimpered softly.

"Bella, Charlie is…one of us now," Edward told me slowly, reluctantly.

"One of…you mean…he's- he's a" I muttered confused half-sentences, until Jake supplied his version.

"He's a filthy bloodsucker, just like them. You won't be able to see him anymore, Bella. He's completely wild….a monster."

My eyes widened in shock and I turned to flee up the stairs. No one moved to block my escape this time, and I was free to lock myself in Edward's room to try and make sense of what had happened. It wasn't the fact that they had changed Charlie that bothered me so intensely. When I thought about it for a long time, I could even understand the mentality of it. Charlie was at risk, in danger. Now that he was a vampire, he was safe and no longer vulnerable. But for Edward to keep it from me like that was inexcusable. And they had taken no precautions in regards to the treaty. Now we not only had the entire Volturi after us, but the Quileutes as well. I had never felt so hopeless.

When I finally let Edward come in to see me, he looked terrible.

"Bella, I'm so, so sorry. Really, you don't know how much I wish I had told you or even consulted you first. It wasn't fair to you. That's not how I wanted you to find out."

After a long talk, I found myself forgiving him, simply because he was Edward and I knew he would never intentionally hurt me. Once he was forgiven, it was even harder to accept that he would soon be going to war against the werewolves, even though I knew that all seven Cullens would be needed to fight alongside whatever allies they managed to acquire. I still had no idea what was in store for me while they were at battle, but it didn't seem like the right time to ask. I didn't want to have any more things to worry about while I was recovering.

And, it seemed, I had a lot to recover from. Carlisle came in to examine me and, in addition to my external injuries, I was suffering from dehydration, malnutrition and pneumonia. I slept most of the time, and wished I were sleeping the rest of the time. It hurt when I moved, breathed, coughed, and sneezed. It hurt to exist. I don't think I would have gotten through it at all if Edward hadn't been there for me constantly, ensuring that I had everything I could possibly need. He left once, to hunt, and everyone else was left with strict instructions to check on me every half hour and be there in less than a second if I asked for them. Under the meticulous care of all these vampires, I slowly began to heal, and, after a week, found that I was well enough to get up and start doing things again. But at the same time, I realized there were only two weeks remaining until the war would begin.


	12. Hopeless

**A/N: Ok, you're probably all mad at me for taking such a long time, and I'm really sorry. I've had this written for ages but I didn't have time to edit. Anyway, there'll be another chapter in the next few days but after that I don't know when I'll be able to post another one, because I really have NO idea what's going to happen next. I have a pretty good idea of what's going to happen with the werewolves, but I have been trying for weeks to think of a way to end the issues with the Volturi without all the Cullens dying. So if anyone has an idea for that, let me know in your review, because I'm kind of desperate. **

On the day that Carlisle officially declared me in full health once more, when Edward came to see me, he looked sad and resigned. Every aspect of his appearance denoted defeat and dread. His head hung slightly, and his eyes retained a forlorn, aching misery. Confused as to why his expression was better suited to a deathbed than to visiting a loved one who had just completely recovered from a serious illness, I began to interrogate him, but he silenced me with a mournful look.

"Bella," he sighed looking at me as though my face were a delicate flower that he knew was about to crumble into ashes, "I've made a decision. If you're ready, and if you're completely sure that it's what you want…I think it's time to change you. We can't protect you and fight the Quileutes all at once, so I think it's better if you're able to defend yourself in case anything happens while I'm not here."

"Really?" I whispered, hardly daring to trust that this miraculous reward for all my suffering was really being offered.

"Yes," he confirmed, most of the sadness fading gradually, replaced by an unfailing certainty, as he continued, "I think it's time. No matter what I believe, I don't think I could bear for us to be separated permanently."

All through that evening, Edward changed his mind more often than I had tripped in the last six months.

"Bella are you sure you want this?" he kept asking me, over and over.

"Will you just do it?" I finally snapped, trying to hide the fact that I was losing my nerve, though I knew he could tell anyway.

"There are other ways…this solution is so permanent"

"No, you have to do it," I commanded, reminding myself that this had been my dream for over a year now.

"Alright, well, um, you should sit down. I don't want you to fall when I uh…" he instructed in a flustered manner.

"That seems like a silly thing to be worrying about now," I said softly.

He placed his hands obstinately on my shoulders and forced me easily down onto his leather sofa.

"In a few days you won't be able to push me around like that anymore," I teased him, but my voice was still very soft and I didn't really feel like laughing. Edward played along anyway.

"I know," he replied, "I trying to take advantage of it while I can"

I leaned back against the couch, trying to force my stiff muscles to relax. Every part of me had tensed and gone as rigid as a slab of marble. That would probably be permanent. Edward left briefly, to get the rest of the family. He wanted everyone there to stop him in case he lost control. Even when they had arrived, he seemed unsatisfied with all his preparations. He kept moving around the cushions on the couch to try to make it more comfortable.

"Moving cushions isn't going to take the edge off excruciating pain you know," I told him gently. He nodded bleakly, knowing there were no more ways to stall the inevitable.

As I lay back against the pillows, shaking slightly and clamping my mouth shut so I wouldn't scream, I watched Edward kneel beside me. He bent over me and brushed the matted clumps of hair off my neck. Then, slowly, tentatively, appearing as though he would be indescribably relieved if he were simply allowed to flee the room and run as far away from temptation as it was physically possible to be, his shockingly white teeth pierced through the skin on my neck, and lingered there only for a moment. While the agonizing burning sensation started to grip my throat, he bit me again, this time on my left wrist, and then my right. He added a couple of nips on my ankles for good measure, as Carlisle had instructed, to allow the venom to spread more rapidly throughout my veins. When his task was completed, Edward turned abruptly, pushing past Alice who was hovering in behind anxiously, biting her ivory lip in her nervous state. As Edward reached the door, Emmett stepped in his path.

"Stay. She needs you"

Edward turned, hesitating. I fought to turn my head through the blinding pain to shoot him a pleading glance, but he shook his head and tried to shove Emmett aside. Rosalie seized his arm and wrenched him around violently.

"Just look at her, Edward," she seethed, using a scathing tone that I had often heard from her in the past, "How can you walk out on her now? You did that to her," he flinched , "And whether I agree with your choice or not, it is too late to take it back. Do you think it was any easier for me when it was Emmett being changed? It was awful, but I did it and you have to do it too."

Everyone was silent briefly until I couldn't hold back my cries of agony. In the end, that's probably what made up Edward's mind. He rushed back over to my crumpled form and sat beside me, stroking my hair and apologizing repeatedly for his moment of weakness.

Edward never left me again throughout the remainder of the transformation. He held onto me tightly, comforting me, no matter how hard I twisted and screamed. After a few more hours, the pain grew so intense that I could no longer find words to describe the horrors I was facing. Finally, when I had come to the conclusion that I must be dying, about two and a half days after I had been bitten, the burning sensation began to seep, unoticably at first, out of my extremities, working its way out of my limbs, growing less and less widespread and finally waning into a small, concentrated point in the back of my throat where it faded into a much less potent version but did not cease entirely.

When I felt able to, I stood up carefully, breathing heavily, though I knew it was no longer necessary. I felt an uncontrolable need to sink my teeth into the nearest human being, and felt that I could do so without the slightest effort. Attempts to resist my thirst would be futile, as I was well aware, but I convinced myself to walk into the bathroom instead, curious to see what changes the transformation may have caused. When I caught sight of my reflection, it almost distracted me momentarily from my thirst. I couldn't put my finger on any one difference that was responsible for the breathtaking beauty I now possessed. The differences were so subtle, that I almost doubted that there were any. Except that I was so beautiful. My skin was slightly more pale and the soft bruise-like purple shadows had appeared beneath my crimson eyes but any other change was completely imperceptible.

"I look so perfect!" I breathed to Edward, who had followed me.

"You were always beautiful," he smiled, wrapping his arms around me, "Now everyone will be able to see it." I was a little shocked, when his embrace caused a wave of warmth to radiate through me. Now that my skin was chilled to the same degree as his, it felt as though he had become warmer.

My instincts were fighting an angry battle against my heart, but in the end, I knew my need to hunt would win out over my desire to stay with Edward all day staring at my stunning new face, which I could finally deem attractive enough to stand a chance against Edward's breathtaking good looks. My body trembled with the effort of self-control and I knew it was only a matter of time until I lost it.

"Do you want to go show everyone else?" Edward asked.

"I can't," I exploded in anguish, "I need to hunt. Now" I reached for his hand, dragging him along with me, a vague thought about abusing my superior new vampire strength breaking through the brick wall that was the single thought overpowering my mind.

"Come with me, you have to show me how," I commanded.

He led me to a remote clearing not too far from Forks, knowing I couldn't control myself if we tried to go anywhere further. Instinctively, I destroyed the first unfortunate creature that ventured into my range, a young doe, who was trying to get a drink from a little creek too close to me. The taste was thin, watery. It was more disappointing that I had expected, but it cleared my mind from the crazed thirst enough to seek larger prey. A large black bear provided a more substantial respite, though, I had to admit, it wasn't all that much better. To be completely honest, I was never entirely prepared for the challenge of the way the Cullens lived. All of Edward's explanations of the difference between human and animal blood were painfully clear to me now and, at first, I wasn't sure whether I would be able to do what he did. But at the same time, I knew I was perfectly happy to accept all the consequences of being with Edward forever. It was past time that I take some of the burden and at least now, Edward's greatest temptation was safely out of the way.

"Good job," he congratulated me when we met up back in the clearing where we started, managing to surprise me, while I was distracted by my food.

"I think I'm getting the hang of this," I lied, forcing a grin.

"Yeah right,you're not even close! Look at the mess you made" he scoffed, looking pointedly at the bloodstains that tainted the grass. and I shoved him and watched him stumble across the clearing with immense satisfaction.

"I want to see Charlie when we get back" I said, remembering my fathers altered state.

"He's been asking about you," Edward assured me, as we gathered speed and headed towards the house.

When we arrived back at the Cullen residence, Charlie had returned from wherever he'd been hiding whie I was human. His change was a little more obvious, since he now sported a full head of hair and any traces of grey had been eliminated. His face, though, like mine, was undeniably beautiful and yet, I was again unable to detect the source of his orgeous looks. He reminded me of one of those middle aged movie stars who were able to retain their attractive qualities so well that even young girls hearts stopped at the sight of them. It was hard to believe that it was really Charlie,

"Bells!" he greeted me enthusiastically, bounding over gracefully to envelop me in a friendly hug.

"Dad!" I gasped, still stunned, "You look, um, great!"

He chuckled at my lame greeting,

"I'm glad you're safe now Bells," he told me sincerely.

We had a couple of hours to savour the family reunion before Carlisle called a meeting to discuss strategy.

"Alright, now that the Swans are a little more able to defend themselves," he began in a businesslike tone, "We need to prepare for this war as efficiently as possible. We've used up three days changing Bella, and we now have eleven days remaining. The werewolves have a much larger army than we do. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to remedy the situation?"

His speech was greeted with silence.

"Alright, well, let's see," he continued, "We have nine at the moment."

"No, I don't want Bella to have to fight," Edward interjected defensively, "She's only been one of us for a few days! And I don't think Charlie should be in the war either. They're just too inexperienced."

"Seven, then" Carlisle conceded, frowning.

"No, I want to help you!" Charlie objected.

"Dad! You have no idea what you're getting yourself into!" I protested, 'Isn't there a way to handle this quietly? Some sort of negotiation? If anything happens to any of you…"

"Unfortunately, we seem to have exhausted the opposition's patience with us" Carlisle sighed, "To incur the wrath of a werewolf is most unwise. I'm still unsure of whether we made the right decision."

"Have you contacted Denali, Carlisle?" Esme inquired, unable to to handle the dark mood that Carlisle's words had kindled in the room, which Jasper seemed too depressed to do anything about.

"Yes, and they have 3 more for us," he remembered.

"Only three?" Alice gasped.

"Friendship only goes so far sometimes," Carlisle reminded her gently.

"This is hopeless," I moaned miserably.

"We'll think of something," Edward promised, "Don't worry about us,"

But I didn't believe him. And nothing would stop me from worrying about them.

That night, my first night of sleeplessness, I was restless. I paced the house listlessly until Edward could no longer bear to watch and took me out to the porch, where he attempted to distract me with meaningless talk and kisses when he got more desperate. Finally he gave in and we got around to discussing what was really on my mind.

"I can't do this! I'm not strong like you and the rest of your family. I can't think anymore. Everything has to be about this awful bloodlust. It's controlling my life!"

"Bella, you couldn't be more wrong," he contradicted, "I've never seen anyone develop so much self-control in such a short amount of time. You have an incredibly strong mind. You know that. I'm not supposed to tell you this, but it might make you feel better to know that you're doing a great deal better than your father. Charlie…well, he was difficult at first." Noting my uncomprehending expression, he continued, "He slipped, Bella".

"Oh!" I turned away to hid my horror.

"Don't blame him, Bella. Not everyone can control themselves like you. You're doing really well. And it does get easier, trust me. The first year is hardest, but you should consider yourself lucky. Many new vampires can barely function. Haven't you wondered why you hardly see Charlie? He doesn't want you to see him like that."

Slightly reassured about my restraint, I dropped the subject, but we remained silent for quite some time, while I worried about Charlie.

In the end, the allies for our war came to us and there was no need for us to seek them out. However, theire allegiance came with certain strings attached, and all of us wished we could have found warriors under different circumstances. It was two days after our failed strategy meeting when our unexpected guests first made us aware of their presence in Forks. I was sulking around, battling with my thirst which continued to be the sole focus of my life, besides Edward and the occasional thoughts for Charlie and the rest of the Cullens. Most of the occasional visitors that we received were in the habit of knocking and yet, the scents of the vampires who had just barged into the house were unfamiliar to me. I breezed into the entranceway to greet or confront them, once I had ascertained their identities. When I beheld the party of six that glowered darkly in the doorway, I felt instantly grateful for my newfound immortal state, To encounter these visitors in my previous vulnerability could very well have proved fatal. The remainder of my family joined me in the space of a few seconds, forgoing all pretenses of friendliness. Carlisle eyes the representatives of the Volturi, searching for traces of hostility, trying to judge their willingness to negotiate, but the scarlet eyed faces of Demetri, Felix, Alec, Jane, Victoria and the telekinetic vampire who had incapacitated Emmett during my kidnapping, remained emotionless and impassive. Edward stepped forward to shield me, shaking his head almost imperceptibly at me when I hissed at him that he didn't need to protect me anymore.

"What is the purpose of this intrusion?" Carlisle inquired stiffly.

"We're here to inform you of your impending punishment!" Victoria smirked tactlessly, looking pleased with herself as always.

"Quiet, you fool!" Felix snapped, throwing her a disgusted glance, "Pay no mind to her, we keep her around only due to her former usefulness as an informant. She knows nothing of our plans," .

"We merely come to summon you," Demetri continued charismatically, trying to lull us into a false sense of security with his persuasive voice, "To Volterra. We're concerned about your family's recent activities and our leaders merely wish to disuss the matter in person".

Carslisle glared back at him, his body language sending him the clear message that Demetri's charm was doing nothing to dispel his suspicion.

"I'm afraid that's out of the question at present. We've had some trouble with a local werewolf pack and we're only a few days away from war. If the summons is regarding disciplinary action, I doubt it ill be necessary. We're greatly outnumbered and the fighting is unlikely to end favourably for any of us."

"I see," Demetri replied, "Well, as you fellow vampires, I'm sure our leaders would agree that it is our duty to provide you with the necessary amount of soldiers." His eyes shone at the prospect of a good fight.

:What?" Victoria shrieked, livid, "You want to help them?"

"They're our kind. The werewolves are our sworn enemies. In any case, our leaders wish to deal with their crimes themselves". Felix explained impatiently, growing weary of Victoria's insolence.

"Well, it doesn't seem as though we are in any position to refuse," Carlisle replied reluctantly. No one voiced any protests and Edward gave a little nod to indicate that there were none. Of course, that didn't include me, and I was rather horrified that we were planning to accept their help, but I trusted the Cullens and didn't want to ruin what could be everyone's one chance of survival.

A/N update: I also wanted to add that, although I'm very flattered that so many people have added me to their story alerts, it would be great if you guys could review my story too. I really want to know how I'm doing and how I can improve.


	13. Victims of War

**A/N: As promised, I'm updating again, to make up for the long wait last time. Thanks so much for all of your reviews, I got some really helpful suggestions. Keep them coming!!**

I was even more reluctant to have my family partnered with the villainous creatures, whose ulterior motives frightened me even more than their past attempts at claiming my life, when they revealed their conditions which we would have to agree to in order to have them fight with us. Demetri insisted on being put in charge of our army, Carlisle, desperate for a chance to prevent his family from being harmed, aquiesced. Admittedly, Demetri was a good leader, and evidently had experience in the field. He immediately set out to make preparations, having troops sent over from Italy through frequent contact with their leaders and placing spies on werewolf territory. In fact we had no disputes whatsoever concerning the running of the army until two days before the war was scheduled to begin.

"I've drawn up some diagrams regarding strategy," Demetri announced, impressively quickly after the boundaries had been established, "I want your family to look them over before they're finalized." He always made a show of acting as though we had some measure of influence over the commandment of the army.

"Now, naturally, I thought it best to have some of our finest members in high positions, but of course it is your war, so I've divided the army into groups with one of us and two of you at the head of each. Theyre fairly small groups. I've colour coded each group. Blue is Carlisle and Esme, red is Edward and Bella, purp-"

"What? Did you say Bella?" Edward's thunderous roar shook the house nioticeably.

"Yes…" Demetri continued slowly, clearly confused and wondering whether Edward was insane.

"NO," Edward snarled, "Bella's not fighting. You can't do that!"

"Sorry, we need her for numbers," Demetri shrugged, nonchalantly. I gaped at him, too appalled to express my feelings on the matter.

"Carlisle! Surely you won't let them do this!" Edward protested.

"what do you want me to say, Edward? I can't put Bella before the rest of us! Look at our current situation. If they don't help us we will all die. I think I've indulged your overprotective nature quite enough." Carlisle snapped.

Edward stood up, the powerful movement sending his chair speeding backwards into the wall, creating a dent. Punching a gaping hole in the wall to indicate his frustration on his way, he stormed out of the house , breaking into a run in the front yard. I stood more slowly and carefully, but I did damage the house further as I leaned on the table for support. I backed away from everyone, nervously, shooting furtive glances at each of the solemn faces around the room. Then I turned and darted out after Edward, ignoring the uproarious argument commencing as I sprinted away.

I didn't know which way Edward had gone, so I distracted myself by hunting small, easy prey for an hour or so. While stalking a young buck, I heard a distant crashing sound. Curious, I headed towards it until I found the source of the noise. Edward was there, knocking down trees, his fists a white blur as he unleashed his intimidating fury on the defenseless forest. He turned when he caught my scent, his eyes softening quickly to the warm golden yellow that made me trust him so completely, but not before I caught a glimpse of the passionate anger and helpless frustration burning deep within them.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you there." He apolgized.

"You did what you could," I replied quietly.

:"I just can't understand it!" he seethed, "How could they expect someone who has only been one of us for a few days to fight werewolves? You have no experience, no time to even experiment with your abilities. And now they're separating us into _groups_. I won't even be able to protect you if we're supposed to be ordering people around"

"You don't need to protect me. I'm stronger than you are anyway. I can fight better than you can, probably," I mumbled dully.

"It's not that simple. It's not about who has the most strength. I was a new vampire when I fought my first werewolf and I'm sure that I would be dead if Carlisle hadn't been there to help me. I don't know what to do. I can't let anything happen to you!" he shuddered ad pulled me close, and I could tell that he was afraid to let me go.

"The world just isn't going to leave us alone, is it?" I speculated with a touch of bitterness, "Every time I turn around there's some new danger tring to force us apart. This war scares me so much. I wish there was a way out of it."

"It's not the fighting that you're worried about, is it," Edward percieved.

"Yes and no," I admitted, no longer meeting his eyes, "I am terrified. I'm completely terrified at the thought that a werewolf could be ripping my throat out in two days" Edward cringed and looked nauseous. "But to me, the enemy isn't just the enemy. They have lives and families and they were really good to me last spring. And Jacob…I know I won't have to fight him, Our friendship means that much to him at least, but anyone else on our side could be fighting him. He means as much to me as any one of you…well, I do care about _you _a little more Edward, but if anything happens to Jake, I can't deal with it! And I don't know if he can ever forgive me for fighting his brothers."

Edward said nothing,. He simply tightened his hold on me and I felt, for the first time, that he was truly beginning to accept my friendship with Jake,

The night before the battle was scheduled to begin, everyone was far too nervous to focus on their everyday occupations and everyone sat idly around the house, in tight, anxious little groups. Edward had finally given up trying to play his piano when he hit his fifth wrong note that evening. We all saw this as a bad sign. He had joined me, Alice and Jasper and we were all crammed together on the small loveseat. We all took comfort in each other's presence and nobody was willing to move. Alice and I were seated on Jasper and Edward's laps, but the lack of space was still such that Alice and I overlapped and her arm was overtop of my shoulder. For a long time, no on made any attempts at conversation.

"What is _wrong_ with me," Edward burst out suddenly, "How can this be affecting me so much?"

"Calm down, we're all nervous," Alice told him kindly, "You're no worse than anyone else."

"I am!" he persisted, "I can't hear your thoughts Alice." He paused, "Or Jasper's!" What are we going to do? Now we won't know wat the werewolves are planning?"

He concentrated intensely, his eyes narrowed, ignoring the rest of us, but it wasn't until Alice and Jasper got so annoyed with his sulleness and stood to leave that he finally regained his mental link with them.

The battlefield was a vast territory, mainly composed of the Cullens' hunting area, which was far enough away to prevent us from being heard by the humans in Forks. The discussions between our leaders did not last long and I took this to mean that they hadn't established a lot of rules. This did nothing to comfort me. I stood rigidly at the front of the group that Edward and I led, staring fixedly ahead, unseeing. Edward brushed my hand gently, his kind touch sending a jolt of warmth radiating up my arm. Then, Carlisle gave the signal for the fighting to begin and the various mythical creatures surged towards each other with a ferocity I wouldn't have thought possible.

An unfamiliar wolf leapt at me, obviously thinking me an easy kill and I was overcome by a putrid stench which assaulted my nostrils and rendered me temporarily paralyzed with shock and fear. I closed my eyes and let him come, unable to do otherwise, but the powerful jolt that knocked me to the ground did not come from the direction I was expecting.

"Bella! What the hell are you doing? Defend yourself!" Edward roared as he sprang up and attacked the wolf who had tried to kill me, murderous with revenge. I ran into the shelter of the trees, and scaled one of them, hoping to ambush one of the wolves from above. I figured the element of surprise could give me a much needed advantage. As I surveyed the little individual skirmishes scattered throughout the forest, from my perch, I deduced that the groups that Demetri had designated for our army were meant more as an insult to the enemy than any kind of real strategy. The organized ranks of our side were meant to suggest that we were more civilised than the enemy; once the battle really got going, the speeds at which both sides were capable of traveling made it impossible to stay together in groups.

I failed dismally in my attempts to surprise the werewolves. They could smell me from so far away that I had no choice but to meet them head on. I managed to fend off three or four of them, avoiding fatalities on either side. The fifth was so ferocious, that I was forced to destroy him in fear for my own life. I was horrified with myself and could barely face everyone when the battle ended for the day.

While we enjoyed the luxury of not needing to sleep, the werewolves were not so fortunate and we extended them the courtesy of stopping to let them rest each night at seven o clock. Every morning we met at the same meeting point as the first day. Each day, I grew more and more miserable as the deep hate that I naturally felt towards he wolves drove me to kill more and more of my opponents. They all seemed to think I was weaker than I was. No one anticipated my strength, which surpassed everyone else on the battlefield's. I Got the feeling that the werewolves from LA Push didn't trust their foreign mercenaries very much but whatever the reason for their ignorance, it made it simple for me to destroy all the monsters that crossed my path without assistance. It's a god thing I was able to manage so well on my own, since the rest of the family was constantly busy fighting their own battles elsewhere, even Edward, who I had expected to tail me persistantly, no matter how hard I tried to be independent.

I tried to avoid the Quileutes whenever possible, since they were the only ones aware of my superior strngth and also because they were furious about my betrayal to their kind and to Jacob. I had several close calls, but one in particular stands out in my memory. I was creeping along in the forest hoping not to run into any wolves, when I caught the faintest scent of an enemy and then something smashed into my chest and hauled me backwards sending us both tumbling silently into the bushes.

"Don't move," growled a low voice, indiscernable through clenched teeth. A white hand clamped over my mouth and I realized that it was, in fact, another vampire hoding me firmly down. Suspecting one of the Volturi, I writhed and struggled fiercely against my captor.

"Are you trying to get us both killed?" he hissed irritably in my ear. He released his grip on my mouth as I ceased my thrashing, and I was able to turn to face him, confirming what I already knew. It was only Edward, trying to protect me from whatever was coming.

"Don't breathe" he commanded, almost silently and I obediently cut off my oxygen source, His arm was still across my chest, restraining me, but I no longer attempted to fight him. Instead I pressed myself as far back against his chest as possible, staring in the direction of the danger, frozen with terror, After a minute or so, the tension of watching what was coming became too intense and I turned my face away and buried it in Edward's shirt without making a sound. He lifted his arm equally soundlessly to stroke my hair gently. As my pursuer passed by the place where we were concealed, Edward stiffened digging his fingernails into the skin on my bare arm. I could hear the werewolf sniff cautiously, danerously close to were we were hiding, but surprisingly, he gave a snort of disgust and then I could hear his footsteps gradually receding. Edward began to relax his death grip on me, finally letting go and rising gracefully to his feet. He scanned the surrounding forest, watching and listening before extending his hand to help me up. When I'd take a moment to restart my normal breathing pattern, Edward looked me over carefully.

"You're alright?" he inquired quietly.

"Um, I think so," I whispered, afraid to speak aloud, knowing I couldn't trust my voice not to break.

"He didn't smell me,"I observed with incredulity.

"No. I was blockng you. It's all about angles," Edward explained.

"But he could easily have gone after you!" I gasped. He shrugged.

Could have. At least you could have gotten away," he said, pressing a figner gently to my lips$ when I opened my mouth to yell at him, "I could have handled him, Bella. Anyway, I wasn't expecting him to come after me. I was right. They're hunting you. Your friend does't seem to have much influence in the pack" HE looked troubled.

"But how did you know I was in trouble?" I asked him.

"Alice. We were fighting fairly close to each other, thank god. She warned me mentally that she was about to see something, so I went to ward off the wolf she was fighting so she could concentrate. I saw the whole thing through her mind. Oh, god it was so awful. Of course, I couldn't see him, you know Alice can't see werewolves, but I saw you falling and I was so afraid that there was nothing I could do. I thought when I got here I wouldn't be able to stop him."

HE was silent for several minutes and he didn't move except to grasp my hand, but after a while, he spoke again.

This can't happen again. We have to protect you somehow"

I suppose I shouldn't have expected t be working alongside the Volturi without fights breaking out, but I had grown accustomed to their presence by the time the harmony was dissolved. We used the nights that we weren't hunting (which were fairly frequent since many of our side weregetting extra sustenance in battle through their victims) to plan tactics for the next day with regular meetings. The night after the incident with the Quileute wolf, Edward was insisting that I be protected, since the wolves had a particular interest in me, but Demetri seemed to consider it unecessary.

"She's more at risk than any of us. Bella deserves to be protected. It won't cause you much trouble at all. Our family would be hapy to take over the task," Edward suggested.

"No, there are too many wolves for that. If you're off trailing after Bella like some stupid pathetic puppy, not only are we stuck with more wolves, but we're missing our mind reader. Add the loss of the rest of your family's service and youcan see where the problems would lie. This is your war, remember, we can't fight it for you," Demetri said.

"So we should just offer Bella as a sacrifice to the cause?" spat Edward contemptuously.

"Ooh, I like his plan," Victoria piped up, with a cruel grin. I scowled at her, but kept quiet.

"This way I don't have to kill her myself," she commented, "I still haven't worked out how best to accomplish that now that the stupid filthy thing is one of us".

Edward growled savagely and sprang at her. Rosaie and I, the closest to him, leapt up from our seats to try restraining him, but before we could reach him, Jane had stood up and Edward was on the ground, in excruciating pain. His fists were clenched and his mouth clamped shut to keep from crying out.

"Let him go!" Alice cried angrily, "What's wrong with you? This is so unecessary, It's not like we would actually let him attack her.

"Edward…" I whimpered feeling sick. I took a step towards him and Alice grabbed my wrist, trying to hold me back. I shook her off effortlessly. I still don't know what my intent was when I knelt beside Edward and reached out to stroke his cheek. I never expected to be able to help him and I was not so naïve as to think that my being there could provide any comfort when he was in such agony. I wasn't looking at Edward at that point. I was actually glaring at Jane, wishing I could rip her to pieces or at least make her feel the pain of her own gift. To my surprise, she was no longer wearing that malicious satisfied look she normally had when using her twisted gift, instead she was glaring right back at me, looking as though _she_ would like to rip _me _to pieces. I couldn't comprehend her peculiar expression, and I grew even more confused as I glanced around the room and noticed everyone staring at me. I was surrounded by a crowd of identical pale masks of astonishment. I turned back to Edward, afraid of what I might see, but to my relief, he was no longer in pain. He had obviously not seen whatever had shocked all the others because the only emotion I could see displayed on his face was burning livid anger.

"If you ever try to harm her," he panted, glaring at Victoria, "I swear I will never stop hunting you until there is no doubt in my mind that you are thouroughly destroyed."

But Victoria was too busy gaping at me to react to his harsh words

"How- How did you _do _that?" she stammered.

"What? What did I do?" I demanded, looking around at the amazed mob.

"You…he…it just stopped…" Victoria babbled incoherently. I frowned, trying to piece together some meaning from her fragmented half-sentences but coming up with nothing. Then I noticed that Jane was still focused on Edward looking as thogh she were excercising her powers on him. I looked down at my hand which had come to rest on his shoulder.

"That was amzing," Alice remarked, impressed, but not overly surprised, "That's quite a talent you've got there, Bella"

My talent was, of course, more of a hindrance that a useful tool in the war. I had to take care not to touch the werewolves any more than necessary, since the physical contact blocked their thoughts from Edward and prevented several of the other vampires from using their talents on them. Since the werewolves had no extra abilities, my gift did nothing against them. It did, however, prove very useful in settling disputes with our so-called allies. These usually ended favourably for us now, since there was little that the Volturi could do to us without their powers on which they relied far too much. Soon, Edward, Alice, Emmett nd Jasper were permitted to accompany me during the day, in case I was forced to deal with a large attack. For several weeks it proved to be an unecessary precaution and eventually I began to think that I would never have to encounter the Quileute werewolves at all. Sadly I was mistaken and the encounter was even more traumatizing than anything I could have imagined.

The day that they came for me, was fairly quiet by our standards. We had only seen a couple of wolves, which was unusual, since, being Forks vampires, we were all prime targets. I was in an uncharacteristically light and carefree mood, as were my guard. All morning, the five of us laughed and teased each other mercilessly, enjoying the rare happiness wholeheartedly. Alice swung daintily from the tree branches, as though they were monkey bars and the forest was nothing more than her personal playground. She hopped from tree to tree, finally dropping down and landing neatly on Jasper's shoulders. I was impressed by this little feat until Emmett snuck up and lifted the pair of them onto his back. Edward lifted me onto his back, joking about how I was still as light as a feather to him. I sprang lithely off his back and knocked him down, pinning him to the ground

"Excuse me?" I growled dangerously, breathing ominously into his ear. His perfect features creased into a frown, unable to determine whether I was serious.

"You're not stronger than me now," I sneered, lowering my face so that it was almost touching his, while his eyes darted anxiously back and forth and his face twisted into an expression that ressembled fear.

"Bella," he muttered uneasily, unsettled by my uncharacteristic aggression. His eyes widened as I breathed my appealing new vampire scent into his face.

Still glaring, as though I were furious with him, I pressed myself up against him, kissing him more deeply than I ever had before. When I pulled away, he was laughing.

"I see this transformation has done wonders for your acting skills," he chuckled, finally managing to pull one of hi arms free to entwine it in my hair.

This sunny atmosphere continued, right up until the moment that our conversation was interrupted as we sensed the approach of a large number of foes. Before we had time to truly prepare ourselves, we were surrounded by the entire pack. Sam and Embry cornered Alice and Jasper who fought fiercely, together, in a strangely beautiful synchronised rhythm. Emmett and Edward fought three more, who I couldn't recognise from where I stood. I craned my neck to try and determine their identities, but there was no time. A crushing blow sent me flying, and I landed sprawled on the damp forest floor, my razor teeth cutting through the skin on my cheek and releasing a little of the blood that remained in my system. I raised my head and saw a large snarling muzzle coming straight at my head. I managed to get to my feet in time to be knocked down again. I rose quickly, annoyed at this messy attack which was preventing me from getting a real look at my attacker. And then I did see him. And I wished I hadn't. The soft reddish brown fur, now matted and cluttered with debris was as familiar to me as Edward's silky bronze hair.

"Jake," I shrieked, appalled, "What are you doing? It's me! It's Bella!"

He gave no indication that he had heard me; his only resonse was to give a wild snarl and launch himself at me again. He landed on top of me, trying to hold me down,, but as he raised a massive paw to strike, my arm shot out like a spark, trapping his limb in a vicelike grip. I rolled over, pushing myself off of him and retreating towards the bush. I couldn't escape fast enough, though, since he launched himself at me one more time, but I could make no move against him, while he was gathering himself up.

"Look Jake, I know I hurt you and I know you're mad at me, and I'm so sorry, but please, please don't do this!" I pleaded, willing him to listen.

I saw a little more of the old, human Jake, sneak its way into his dark angry eyes, and in the time it took me to blink away the tears that would have been there when I was human; the tears I expected, he had transformed back into the hulking teenage boy that I had once trusted.

"You're right Bella," he said quietly, "I can't fight you". I beamed.

"It'll be alright, Jake, we can work this out, right?" I asked him hopefully.

"Yeah, sure," he smiled and his face shone with sincerity, or perhaps that was just my wishful thinking. Either way, I was convinced that he no longer meant to hurt me, and I rushed forward to hug him, my smile growing as I realized that the werewolf reek seemed to be less potent in Jacob than it was in the rest of the wolves.

I wrapped my arms around my incredibly tall best friend and Jake reciprocated the gesture. After a moment, Jake wrenched me around painfully his hand in a very peculiar position at my throat. I wondered with a shiver, which one of his brothers he was trying to protect me from.

"Don't move!" he shouted harshly. I couldn't tell who he was addressing. Was it Sam? Paul? He turned, so that I could see what was happening. All of the wolves morphed back into humans and froze, along with the members of my family that they were fighting. Why was it that the wolves all looked strangely triumphant, while the vampires looked frightened and despairing?

"Don't move," Jake repeated, "Or Bella dies,"

My naïve delusions about Jake's forgiveness shattered instantly, leaving a throbbing wound in my heart.

"What?" I croaked.

"Shut up!" he snapped, digging his fingers threateningly into my neck. I wondered if he knew that I didn't need to breathe. It didn't matter. It still hurt, physically and emotionally. I knew the tears wouldn't come, never would again, but at that moment, my throat burned, my eyes stung and filled with imaginary tears and more of them spilled out, tracing phantom tracks down my cheeks. If I hadn't known better, I might have truly believed I was crying. I could almost feel the moisture. In my confusion and terror, my mind flashed back to my Romeo and Juliet metaphor from last spring.

_What if Paris was Juliet's best friend? But then…what if he wasn't really?_

"If you don't let her go…" Edward growled viciously, the words coming out strangled and strained.

"One more word, leech, I swear I will kill her," Jake threatened.

Nobody spoke or twitched or even breathed in the case of the vampires. Alice and Jasper had Sam and Embry trapped between them, holding them in a sort of cage formed rom their linked arms. Emmett had a new wolf, whose size suggested he was none other than Jake's friend, Quil, pinned to the ground. Edward was the only one who appeared to be fighting a losing battle as Paul and Jared's positions suggested they had been clawing at his arms and back before the interruption. Everthing was still and quiet for what felt like an eternity. I stared into the horror stricken faces of my family and waited or something more to happen. I can't be sure why, but for only a moment, Jake's grip faltered and I was able to pull away before he could regain his hold on my neck.

I tripped and fell, something I hadn't done since I was human, but I regained my balance more quickly than I would have when I wasn't a vampire. I ran as fas as I possibly could away from Jake, never looking back. Edward had broken away from the battle and he caught up to me fairly quickly. Paul, Jared and Jake were close behind us. I could hear their feral snarling as they gained on us, and it drove my legs faster and faster in my haste to escape them. The trees flashed past us, blurs of green and brown in my peripheral vision, but I barely noticed anything except the furious sound of my footsteps roaring in my ears. They pounded out a continuous rhythm in my head. _Not fast enough. Not fast enough._ Suddenly I was forced to come to an abrupt halt as I found myself on the edge of a dizzying precipice. I looked down, terrified. There was no escape now, from the wildly snapping jaws that drew closer and closer, maddened with thoughts of revenge.

"Jump, Bella!" Edward called. I could only stare at him in confusion. Surely he couldn't be asking me to throw myself off a cliff, the same thing he'd been so angry about me doing once before.

"You have to jump!" he yelled, but I was unable to take the tiny step that would send me hurtling over the edge. I looked down. The only reasonable explanation I could come up with was that Edward was insane. The bottom of the cliff was not covered in perilous crashing waves. No, this cliff was much, much worse. Jagged rocks were scattered across the area where I would land if I were stupid enough to jump off here.

Seeing that I wasn't going to do what he wanted, Edward threw one arm securely around my waist and dragged me over the edge. Knowing that watching our descent would drive me insane with fear, he pulled my face into his chest, where I wouldn't have to see anything. I clenched my eyes shut tightly anyway and screamed. I was sure we were going to die. I felt the wind whip past me, and clutched at Edward more tightly as I imagined the sharp lethal rocks waiting to swallow us, looming closer with each passing second. When the jolt of impact hit, I was still afraid to open my eyes, unsure of what I would see. When I did open them, I was gazing up into Edward's concerned face.

"It's ok, Bella. It's over. We're at the bottom," he told me, surprised by my reaction.

I couldn't believe that we were completely unharmed by the sickening drop. This vampire thing was going to take a LOT of getting used to.

Edward dragged me to my feet, leading me a little more roughly than usual into a nearby cave. I blinked, letting my eyes adjust to the inky blackness. After a few moments I found I could see reasonably well by the dim glow that emanated from the narrow fissure that was the cave's opening, a feat I would never have accomplished as a human. I glanced around, checking to make sure Edward was still beside me. That was when I noticed the ragged gashes that Paul and Jared had torn in Edward's skin. His shirt was ripped beyond repair, exposing the gaping wounds that looked strangely empty in the absence of blood. It made the holes look bigger and more painful, and I trembled as I surveyed the full extent of the damage.

"Edward," I whispered, "Oh my god…"

"It's nothing, I'm fine," he protested weakly as I examined his injuries in horror.

"Fine? How could you possibly be fine? They've practically ripped you to pieces," I exclaimed.

"Not quite. I'm still here aren't I? You're still stuck with me," he flashed me his trademark smile, but it didn't last as long as it would need to be to convince me and I found myself unable to smile back at him.

"But doesn't that kind of hurt a lot?" I mumbled, still staring at the angry red exposed flesh.

"I've had worse," he shrugged, but the small movement made him wince, ruining the charade.

Once again, I found myself the victim of countless tears that I could never shed. Falling back against the solid rock wall with a dull thud that echoed hollowly in my ears, I realised just how much everyone had paid to free me, to change me, to try and make me happy. Edward was looking at me, concerned. He had paid more dearly than anyone and I couldn't stand the way he seemed to cringe with every movement.

"Bella? Are you alright?" his voice sounded distant, as though heard through a great depth of water.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, feeling completely wretched.

"Don't be," he told me.

**A/N: Ok, I'm not sure how accurate that stuff about Edward's injuries is. I've read most of the background information that Stephenie Meyer has revealed, but not all of it, and though I've never come across anything that mentions this kind of situation, somebody else might have. If so, let me know and I can change it to make it fit better. **


	14. Together

A/N: Ok, this chapter is really just a filler, and also a response to people's comments that there isn't enough fluffy romantic stuff in this story. I really have no idea what's going to happen next, because I can't even decide what to do about Jacob (whether to keep him evil or have him redeem himself) so don't expect anything new for a while. Again, suggestions are welcome, if there's something you think the story needs or if you have an idea for an ending, let me know. Of course, even if you don't have any suggestions, I still want to know what you all think, so please review.

As the days continued in the same pattern, it became apparent that the two armies involved in the war were perfectly equal. The dangerous balance wore away at each of us as we fought on in a state of rigid terror, worrying, each time that one of our family members left our sight, that it would be the last time we saw them. Though there had been few fatalities on either side and none within our family, or the hosting pack, the threat of such an event hovered over us, haunting us day and night, eating at our sanity. The tension and fear was too much to bear. Finally, Carlisle declared it intolerable and insisted on negotiating a day of truce, to give us a time out from our nightmare.

There were various reactions to the truce. Esme and Carlisle drove into town to spend the day alone together, since Esme was especially worried and Carlisle wanted to distract her. Alice and Jasper also went out, though I think this was less of a distraction and more part of Jasper's constant paranoia that he was about to lose Alice. He hadn't told anyone that he feared that her blindness in foresight with regards to the wolves was going to be her downfall, but Edward had confided to me that he had noticed Jasper's thoughts turning in that direction very frequently. Emmett and Rosalie stayed home, since Rosalie had been sullen and temperamental since the beginning of the war and rarely left her room. I had been planning on following their example. I had decided that I was too mentally drained to contemplate anything beyond collapsing on a couch and staring dejectedly into space for twenty-four hours straight. Edward had other plans.

As soon as Carlisle had finished explaining the terms of the truce, Edward was on his way out the door, trailing me behind him.

"What are you doing," I mumbled, my voice devoid of emotion.

"Let's go somewhere," he answered sounding ridiculously upbeat for someone whose entire family was involved in an ongoing deadly struggle for their lives.

"Why?" I responded, still sounding so flat and empty that you could barely tell it was a question.

"Bella." He halted abruptly, placing his hands delicately on either side of my face, treating it like porcelain out of habit.

"When was the last time you and I had a day to ourselves?" he questioned me accusingly, "Just the two of us?" he added, in case I was planning on counting the car ride home from my prison, which hardly counted anyway due to my minimal consciousness.

"I don't know. Before I was kidnapped, I guess. We've been a little busy waging war! Why are we even having this conversation?" I fired back defensively.

"That's no excuse," he persisted reproachfully, towing me toward his car, "Come _on_, Bella, where to you want to go? I'll take you anywhere you want." He guided me firmly into the passenger seat.

"I don't know. I kind of want to go to the meadow," I admitted reluctantly, watching my plans to wallow in despair slip away beyond my reach.

"That's the spirit," Edward teased, and then he smiled at me in that mesmerizing way of his that made me forget that I was depressed and worried. He shut his own door and flitted around to the passenger side faster than I thought to react, so he could hold my door open politely while I got out, still a little begrudgingly.

"We may as well run. It's so much faster."

We flew through the forest, fingers entwined, at heart racing speeds. The uncharacteristic sunlight had returned once again and dappled pools of gold flecked the rich brown soil as the leaked through holes in the thick canopy overhead. The wind roared pas my head, amplified by my newly heightened senses. Though we traveled so fast any humans we encountered would have missed the two blurs racing past them, and though the ground was uneven and riddled with roots, rocks and various other obstacles, I never once lost my footing.

I soon grew bored of the exhilaration of running that Edward never seemed to get enough of. We were only about halfway to our destination, but I slowed to human speed in order to enjoy the scenery. Edward raised an eyebrow questioningly, but shortened his strides to match my elegant stroll.

"It's nice out here. I want to enjoy it," I explained, "You're the one who wanted me to have fun."

"It is quite beautiful isn't it?" he remarked softly, gazing at the perfect picture that the woods had created, everything so natural and green and earthy. Everything except us, that is. We walked in silence for a while, and then talked about anything and everything that had nothing to do with the war. We took turns carrying each other on our backs, but mostly Edward carried me, since it felt so natural after almost two years of doing it.

The meadow hadn't changed much. The sight of the sunlight sparkling off my skin was a new addition but the picturesque wonder of our refuge had not been altered by time. We lay in the sunlight, throwing rainbow reflections onto each other's chalky skin. Blades of grass tickled my cheek, as I basked in the warmth of the daylight. I watched Edward out of the corners of my eyes. His eyes were closed and a contented half-smile adorned his face. He squeezed my hand gently.

"Aren't you glad you came?" he whispered. I couldn't reply; I was too consumed by the beauty of the scene that surrounded me. Instead, I did the only thing I could think of that could possibly make this better. I leaned in and kissed Edward, catching him by surprise for once in his life. He sat up, pulling me onto his lap, kissing me back in a way that could have been deadly during my human life.

The afternoon flew by in a daze of warm kisses, rainbows and sunlight. The blissful peace of this one day of relief was so perfect I wished that it could be our eternity instead of the war that overshadowed us with no end in sight and left no time for happy moments like this one. Naturally, it was over too quickly and we were racing back through the darkening forest before I knew it. We walked wistfully back into the house, and joined Emmett and Rosalie in the living room. The others hadn't returned yet, but within a few minutes, they all followed us, as reluctant for the day to be over as we had been. With many sighs, we all clung together, waiting for the next day when the brutality would continue.


	15. Chapter 15

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